The Godsent Wanderer - The Cycle of Five Lions 2
by Laura of Maychoria
Summary: Hunk is a paladin, a literal knight in shining armor, wandering around the countryside looking for monsters to fight, blights to cure, and wounds to heal. But he surely would like to have some companions, an adventuring party to have his back and rescue him when he's in trouble. When he meets some folks, though, turns out they're the ones who need to be rescued.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Please go check out Karovie's art! There's more of it now, and it's all amazing. I've linked it from my tumblr, tagged c5l, and at AO3 as well.

My intention is to post a chapter for this story every Sunday. I have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen in this installment, and I'm very excited to share it with you.

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Hunk took a deep breath and reminded himself, again, and that a hero couldn't refuse a quest just because it was icky.

"You're with me, right, Sunny?" he murmured to the yellow lion perched on his shoulder.

Sunshine Boy made a sound deep in his chest and throat. _Mow._ Hunk could feel assurance radiating off his small, sturdy body in waves, pushing away the edges of Hunk's anxiety. He drew in a deep breath, feeling like he was pulling in sunlight along with the air, taking Sunny's steady presence into his own.

Hunk wrinkled his nose and looked ahead at the swamp that stretched in front of them, moss-covered trees rising from scummy liquid, a pungent scent making his eyes water. The sun was high, and wisps of noxious mist were rising from the stagnant water where the heat hit the hardest, causing a low fog that continually burned off in the sun. That was probably the source of the scent, all of that nasty water evaporating and spreading through the air.

Hunk hoped there weren't any bad diseases in it. He could heal pretty well, but he still hated getting sick, and there were some illnesses that he couldn't handle on his own. Even the smell of this place was making his stomach wobble, and he knew if he got sick he would probably be vomiting. Hunk hated vomiting.

But he had a mission here. The people of the nearest village suspected that there was a cult of the Frog operating in this swamp. Lately some of the corpses of local farm animals had been raised as undead and wandered back to their owners. It was just a gross nuisance, right now, but anyone experimenting with necromancy was bad news. Eventually their powers would grow until they could raise people, too, or even dead goblins or bugbears, and then the rural community would be in real trouble. It was better to destroy the cult before it got that far.

Most likely it was just one low-skilled necromancer, but knowing the way the Frog enjoyed dragging people in, there were probably some followers, too. Crazy, swaying people with wild eyes and mud in their hair, singing insane songs and laughing at jokes no one outside their cult could understand. Hunk shuddered. He had never encountered a Frog cultist, but he had heard plenty of stories from other adventurers. This was going to be unpleasant.

Well, there was nothing for it. It would be better to have back-up, most especially a cleric who was better at turning undead, but Hunk was the only one here. He was a paladin. He was suited for this kind of mission. He didn't have to like it, he just had to do it.

Hunk grimaced one last time, then stepped into the knee-height water of the swamp. His foot sank deep into the mud, and his armor filled with nasty water. He had left Big Bart behind with a friendly farmer, not trusting that his mighty steed wouldn't get stuck in the swamp, but now he wondered if he might not be in danger of sinking all on his own. He could take off his full plate, maybe, but that would leave him vulnerable. Hunk made powerful attacks with his broadsword and his spear, but his main asset was his defensive capabilities, and his armor was essential for that. He wasn't fast or agile, so he wasn't good at dodging, but he could block and he could take a hit. Heading into an unknown situation like this, he couldn't afford to reduce his defenses.

Hunk took another step, the swamp sucking around his feet as he moved. He discovered that if he moved quickly enough, he didn't sink. Now and then he found firm patches of ground or a fallen log where he could stop and rest for a moment, but for the most part he had to keep moving. He held his broadsword loose in one hand, ready to sweep it up if danger presented itself. His other hand found purchase on the slimy branches of the trees to pull himself along and offer some purchase if his feet slipped.

Insects hummed and buzzed, obscuring his hearing, and the trees thronged so thick and laden with green that he couldn't see very far ahead, either. He considered asking Sunny to fly above and scout for him, but the fairy lion wouldn't be able to see through the foliage any better than he could. They just had to move forward, keeping watch as best they were able.

Sunny was a good traveling partner, the best, but at times like this Hunk couldn't help wishing for an adventuring party. Someone who was light on their feet to scout ahead, someone strong and tough to have his back in battle. A ranged fighter would be welcome, and perhaps someone with more healing capabilities than a paladin could call upon. Hunk was doing his best, and the past year of wandering around the countryside helping the common folk had been a time of great growing and learning, but he wasn't cut out for this life of solitary questing. Sure, he was a literal knight in shining armor, and it felt great when he entered a village and kids ran out to meet him, waving their arms and cheering him as a hero. He liked his current life, but he couldn't help the sense of longing in his chest pulling him toward something more.

Eventually, another sound drew his attention, something different than the insect and animal noises. Hunk paused with his hand holding another branch, listening as hard as he could. That sounded like...voices.

Hunk exchanged a glance with Sunny, both wary and tense, then began moving toward the voices. He avoided lifting his feet out of the water so as to make as little noise as possible, moving slowly so his armor wouldn't clank at the joints. There were two voices, one male and one female, he thought, both sounding lively and...somewhat annoyed. It wasn't what he'd expected from Frog cultists. They didn't sound deranged or full of mad joy, laughing and singing in high-pitched praise of Babel, the god of insanity, entertainment, and the undead.

"...I don't think it matters whose fault it is," the male voice said when Hunk got close enough to make out the words. It sounded like a youngish man, perhaps, and yes, his tone was full of annoyance. "We got nabbed. Let's figure out how to get out of it."

The female voice sounded even younger, almost childish. "Fine," she snapped, "we'll talk it about it later. But this was definitely your fault. You were supposed to be keeping watch. You kept going on about how sharp your eyesight was, and like a _fool_ I believed you."

"C'mon, don't be that way," the young man whined. "I think they cast some kind of confusion spell right before they grabbed us. I couldn't tell which way was up. Now can we please concentrate? We gotta get away before they come back."

The girl sighed. "Can't you use your Ray of Frost to break the ropes or something?"

"I've been trying. They were smart, dumping us in water up to our waist like this. It keeps dissipating the ice. Though my hands are starting to hurt from the cold."

"Okay, stop that," the girl said, a note of worry creeping in. "If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Don't hurt yourself with your own magic. That's just stupid."

The man had made a conciliatory noise when she told him to stop, but now his voice rose in irritation again. "Yeah? Well, it's stupid that a rogue can't get free of a simple rope. Isn't that, like, part of your thing?"

"Yes." Hissed through clenched teeth. "They must have a rogue, too. Ugh, I hate that this keeps happening. If I gotta be a rogue, I should at least be the _best_ rogue."

Suddenly, the man's voice went soothing. "It's okay, you'll get there. We just gotta keep trying."

Hunk had to pause and press the back of his hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. He'd never heard an argument quite like this before. The two kept alternating between accusing and comforting each other. They must have been good friends, or at least have been traveling together for a significant amount of time.

He was close enough now to see that he was coming up at their backs, two young adventurers sitting in the swamp. He couldn't see much from this distance, but they did seem to be tied up with a great deal of sturdy rope. The young man was quite a bit taller than the girl, he wearing bright clothes and a feathered hat, she in a dark cloak with a hood the matched the image of every rogue Hunk had ever heard of, though this would be his first time meeting one in real life.

Hunk crept closer, wondering what to say to avoid startling them. Then the young man turned his head to speak to the girl and froze when he saw Hunk approaching out of the corner of his eye. His face went blank for a moment, jaw dropping open, and Hunk halted, too, staring at him in stunned silence.

It had been...years. How many? And he was only seeing the other boy in profile, so he could be wrong, but... Hunk shook his head, blinking. It certainly did look like... It couldn't be, could it?

The young man blinked, hard, then craned over his shoulder and twisted his upper body so Hunk could see more of his face. He looked just as shocked as Hunk felt, but happiness bloomed over his expression, a broad grin taking over his face and his eyes wrinkling up. "Hunk!"

The girl turned too, voice sharp. "Lance, shut up, don't draw their attention..." Then she saw Hunk behind them, and she blinked, too.

It was. It was Lance. Hunk gulped, then ran-splashed to them as quickly as he could, mud sucking at his heels but slowing him down not at all. He was shaking, his sword rattling in his grip, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from Lance's face. He felt loose-limbed and weak, and his face was probably gray, but if this was, if it really was Lance...

"Lance. Is it you?" He reached them and moved around to face the two sitting in the swamp so Lance wouldn't have to crane around to look at him anymore. Lance beamed up at him, bright as a sunny sky. "They said you were dead, they said you were lost in a storm..."

Lance's face fell. "Oh, I forgot. They must have told you when they visited your village..."

Hunk nodded limply. He sheathed his sword into the scabbard on his back and splashed down to his knees, reaching out to grab Lance's shoulders with both hands. He tried not to grip too hard, knowing his gauntlets would hurt, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to hug Lance until he couldn't breathe, but he still couldn't quite believe he was real.

Lance looked into his face, more on level now. His expression was solemn. "I'm sorry, Hunk. I was swept overboard in a storm, that's true, but I washed up in Sura City. I've been alive this whole time. I tried to contact my family, but never quite managed it. I didn't even think about trying to send a message to your village. At first I was just struggling to survive, barely had the money to eat, let alone spend on post. And then I just...forgot, I guess. A lot of things happened, and... Still. I should have thought. I'm really sorry."

Hunk felt the tears well up, then fall down his cheeks. "You idiot," he sobbed. He surged forward and wrapped his arms around his lost-and-found friend.

Lance couldn't hug him back, his arms still bound, but he leaned his head on Hunk's shoulder and murmured gently in his ear. "Yeah, yeah, it's okay. I'm okay, big guy. I'm sorry I was gone for so long. I missed you, honest. That first year, when I was so hungry... I thought about your cooking all the time. I missed you so bad."

"You're alive," Hunk said, still trying to believe it. His voice came out wavering and high-pitched. He leaned back and held Lance's shoulders in his hands again, looking him up and down. "You're a bard, just like you planned."

Lance grinned. "And look at you! A real paladin, shining armor and all." He grimaced. "Well, it's kind of mucky at the moment, but still."

The girl cleared her throat, and they both jumped and turned to look at her. She grimaced. "Sorry to interrupt, but if you could..."

Hunk started. "Oh! Yes. Sorry." He pulled out the knife at his waist, usually reserved for skinning animals he caught along the way for campfire meals, and made short work of the ropes around Lance's arms and wrists. Lance stood up, sighing and stretching, then reached down a hand for the girl as soon as Hunk freed her as well.

They stood up facing each other in a little circle, and Lance grinned and put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "This is Pidge. She's a rogue I met in Sura City, and we're on a quest to rescue her family."

Hunk bobbed out a nod and reached out to shake her hand. "Pidge. Hi. I'm Hunk. Well, that's a nickname, just like Lance is a traveling name, he probably told you..."

Lance's eyes widened as he shook his head, but Pidge gave him a confused head tilt. "Lance isn't your real name?" She sounded like she was trying for outrage, but couldn't quite make it.

Hunk gasped and covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh, sorry, I forgot that was a secret. Lance's family works as sea traders, see, and they..."

"Hunk!" Lance burst out, and Hunk apologized again and slapped his other hand over his mouth as well.

The girl was almost doubled over laughing, though, hands holding her stomach. After a moment, she straightened up and faced Hunk, grinning and wiping a tear from her eye. "It's okay. Pidge isn't my real name, either. We'll have to share everything later. Right now, maybe we should get out of this swamp before those crazy Frog people come back."

Hunk looked over his shoulder, suddenly paranoid that the cultists were right behind him. He didn't see anyone, but visibility was still limited. He looked back to Pidge and Lance with a sigh. "That's why I'm here, actually. To break up the cult. The nearby village sent me."

Lance tilted his head. "Maranth?"

"No, Omoro. I think Maranth is on the other side of the swamp from where I came in."

Lance nodded. "Makes sense. Yeah, Maranth is the village that sent us. They were offering a reward to stop the steady supply of animated animal corpses that have been bothering them lately."

"Same here, except Omoro didn't offer a reward. They're too poor."

Lance grinned and knocked his shoulder with his fist. "Good ol' Hunk the paladin, huh? Not in it for the money, are ya?"

Hunk grinned sheepishly. "Money is nice, though." His last few tasks for the countryfolk hadn't provided any coin, and he was starting to be in need of some supplies. Plenty of folks had been willing to put him up in their houses, but they didn't usually have a bed big enough to suit him. He missed staying in an inn.

"We should team up..." Lance was saying, when Pidge suddenly gasped and grabbed his arm with both hands tight enough to make him yelp. She was staring over Hunk's shoulder, her pale face even paler, and Lance turned to her, then looked where she was looking. His voice caught, stopped, then breathed, "Oh, Dragon's claws. Can you believe..."

Hunk glanced over his shoulder, but it was just Sunny, hovering in the air and watching their reunion with a look of deep contentment and pleasure on his furry face. He was always happy when Hunk was happy, and being around other people made Hunk plenty happy, let alone an old friend he had thought was dead. It was perfectly normal.

Except... Hunk turned back to face Lance and Pidge, his eyes wide. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can see Sunshine Boy?"

The other two looked into his face, eyes wide. "We sent Blue and Holly off to find help, if possible," Lance murmured, voice hushed with awe. "I'm surprised they didn't find you, if you were here in this swamp the whole time."

"Blue and Holly..." Hunk blinked, long and slow. Lance and Pidge had fairy lions, too.

Pidge reached out and grabbed their wrists, tugging urgently. "We gotta get out of this swamp. Something is wrong here. We gotta put our heads together and make a plan." She looked at Hunk. "You just ran in here without knowing the situation, right? You didn't have anyone to scout for you? Well, consider me and Lance your scouts. We've seen the Frog cult, and we know what we're up against. It's not a group we can take down without planning. We need to fall back and regroup, then come back tomorrow when we're prepared."

Hunk nodded. "Yeah. That makes sense."

Pidge sighed and looked around, letting Hunk and Lance's wrists fall from her hands. "Fortunately, I think they stashed our gear nearby..."

She started slogging through the swamp, and the others followed her. Sure enough, not far away was a tree with two adventurer's packs slung up into the branches. The cultists would have been smarter to take the gear with them back to their hideout, rather than leave it near where they'd dumped their prisoners. But then, this was a cult of the Frog. They probably did it on some weird whim, or because they thought it was funny.

Pidge scrambled up the tree with a boost from Hunk, then tossed the packs down to Lance's waiting arms. They geared up without further words, then began the slow, sluggish trek out of the swamp, Hunk leading the way.

They didn't talk much, afraid of drawing attention and oppressed by the damp heat and the continual insect noise. But Hunk's heart was light, even so. He'd been longing for some friends, some companions. An adventuring party. And it seemed that he had found one exactly where he least expected it.


	2. Chapter 2

The relief Hunk felt at finally reaching solid ground again was only rivaled by his dread at the knowledge that they were going to have to go back into that mucky, fetid place to actually take out the cult. But this time he wouldn't be alone. Hunk looked to his right and left at Pidge and Lance, grinning. Lance was scanning the horizon, looking for something, while Pidge muttered under her breath and stomped her feet on the grass, trying to get rid of the swamp mud.

Lance noticed after a moment and turned toward her, hands out. "Whoa, now, no need to get in a tizzy. You're with a magic man now, remember?"

Pidge squinted at him. Lance stood straight and flourished his hand ostentatiously, then snapped his fingers loudly next to his head. "Prestidigitation!"

Just like that, Pidge's clothes were clean. She held her arms out from her body and looked down at herself, twisting her body to check front and back, then looked back at Lance with a grudging nod. "I forgot you could do that."

Lance had already cleaned himself and Hunk with two more snaps of his fingers and was now looking around again. "Didn't you grow up in a family of wizards? I'm surprised you're not used to it."

"Mom always made us do our own cleaning. Even my dad. Said it was good for us not to get arrogant with our magic."

Lance snorted a laugh. "When I started learning bard magic, that was the first spell I went for. Sailing ships get _really_ dirty. Crusted salt, barnacles, smears of tar, fish blood... It never ends. Anything to get me out of chores so I could spend more time polishing my performance skills."

Hunk had to laugh, too, remembering small Lance visiting from the sea, running away with Hunk to hide from his family's constant stream of work. It wasn't that Lance had been lazy, even as a child... He just had other priorities. Like befriending a shy, chubby little boy from a coastal village.

"Anyway, what are you looking for?" Pidge asked after a moment.

"Blue and Holly," Lance said, a hint of worry creeping in. "We sent them to get help figuring they would go to the nearest village, but it's been a while. Do you think they're still looking? What if they got lost? What if they went back to where we were captured and couldn't find us?" He gasped and looked to Pidge and Hunk with wide eyes. "What if those cultists managed to catch them? We have to go back, we have to..."

"Lance..." Pidge started, but she was too slow.

Lance whirled back toward the swamp before Hunk and Pidge could stop him, fists clenched at his side and face determined. He didn't make it two paces before a blur of bright blue suddenly streaked out of the trees and rammed into his chest, bowling him over. Lance landed flat on his back with a great _oof_ of air forced out of his lungs, and there he lay with a blue fairy lion perched on his chest, frantically licking his face and purring like mad.

A similar streak of green came to Pidge, but she managed to catch her lion in her arms and avoid being knocked over. She giggled, hugging Holly to her chest. After a moment of shock, Lance laughed and reached up to scrub his hands roughly over Blue's head and neck. "Ah, you found me, girl, didn't you? Sorry I doubted you for even a second. Of course you can always find me no matter where I go. You weren't worried, were you? It's okay, I'm fine. Hunk rescued us."

Hunk grinned at the scene as Sunny purred loudly in his ear. Lance craned his head to look at him, grinning in return, then pushed to his feet still holding Blue against him with one arm. "Hunk, this is Blue," he said proudly. "Blue, this is Hunk." He rubbed his nose on her forehead. "I'm so happy I get to finally introduce my two best friends to each other."

Pidge made a noise of protest and punched his side. "What am I, yesterday's garbage?"

Lance winced and rubbed his side, but his grin didn't falter. "Sorry, Pidgey. Of course you're my best friend, too. We're all best friends, right, Hunk?"

Hunk nodded enthusiastically. "No doubt." He reached up to scratch under Sunny's chin. "And this is Sunshine Boy, Sunny for short." He nodded to Blue and Holly, who looked back at Sunny with interest.

"Nice," Pidge said.

She loosened her grip on Holly, who materialized her wings and flew into the air. Blue and Sunny did too, and the three lions circled in a little loop in the air, sniffing each other and making feline investigative noises. After about ten seconds they seemed to come to a conclusion. Holly and Blue took turns butting their heads gently up against Sunny's, purring and rubbing their cheeks along his, scent-marking each other much like normal cats would.

Lance made a pleased noise. "Guess we really are all best friends."

Hunk nodded. "I left my horse and most of my gear at a nearby farmstead." He pointed the direction. "Let me go get everything, and we'll find a place to make camp and talk things over."

They started walking without further discussion.

Unsurprisingly, Lance recognized Big Bart as the nameless colt Hunk had introduced him to the last time he'd visited Hunk's village. Back then Hunk had still been a bit uncertain about his future as a paladin, but his entire village was so enthusiastic and supportive that he couldn't help but accept the gifts that kept being bestowed on him, including this horse. Hunk learned later that there had been a great deal of discussion amongst his neighbors about what kind of horse would be best to give a future paladin. He had to say that they had chosen well. Big Bart was a fantastic steed in every way.

Pidge gave them a curious look when Lance cried a greeting and threw his arms around Big Bart's neck in a big, enthusiastic hug. Hunk gave her a smile and a little headshake, trying to convey that they would talk about it later. Pidge nodded. The farmer who had been watching Big Bart for Hunk pointed them toward a small grove of trees where they could camp without bothering any of the locals, and they headed there without further delay.

It felt good to take off the full plate, as always. Lance helped him, and Hunk could see him watching carefully, taking note of how all the straps and connections worked. The next time Hunk needed to put his plate on, he wouldn't have to do it alone. It would certainly speed things up, and he sighed in satisfaction when the last tie was released. He stretched out his arms and legs, then went to give Big Bart his daily oats.

Pidge took off her padded armor, too, revealing that she was even slimmer and smaller than she had first appeared. Lance hung his hat up on a branch, then set about making a fire. He used a flint and steel to light it rather than magic. Hunk dug in his pack for his food stores, and Lance and Pidge brought out theirs, too.

They meal they put together was filling, though relatively plain. Lance cheered and clapped his hands when Hunk brought out his little case of spices, and Pidge watched eagerly as Hunk made everything taste just a little bit better. They dined on spiced mutton warmed over the fire, along with hearty bread and chunks of strong white cheese, washed down with a pale ale Lance had brought from his and Pidge's last stop.

They ate in silence for a little while, relaxing after the long day. Lance had sat next to Hunk, of course, and he didn't seem to notice when he started to lean his back on Hunk's shoulder, just like he used to so often. Hunk bore his weight with no trouble at all, munching contentedly. Again, Pidge was watching them.

She noticed him looking back at her and gave him a nod. "So how do you guys know each other, huh? Lance used to visit your village, Hunk?"

Hunk nodded, chewing slowly at his latest bite of food. "I grew up in a village on the southern coast of Amefusa. It's a good few days from any cities, not an important place by any means, but we're relatively prosperous in a homely sort of way. Good fields, good fishing. There's a certain kind of shell you can find there, pretty rare... What's it called, Lance?"

Lance sucked his thumb to chase down a trickle of meat juice and hummed in thought. "They call them murex shells at the trade ports. Your folks just call 'em 'purple.'"

Hunk chuckled. "Right. Atigi violē. Anyway, we would gather the shells throughout the year and sell them to Lance's family when they stopped by. Over the years, we got to be friends, my village and Lance's family. A lot of the same outlook on life, and the sea traders always said they felt at home with us, more than anywhere else. So sometimes they stayed awhile, supposedly to hunt more shells, but really just relaxing and enjoying themselves. Sometimes a few weeks, even."

"It was like a vacation," Lance said easily. "Best stop of the year, every single time, as far as I can remember back. I don't actually remember the first time we met, do you?"

Hunk nodded. "I'm surprised you don't remember, but we were both really young... I was shy, and I hid behind a pile of baskets when those strangers came to shore. I was watching, though, and I saw a little boy my age laughing and running on the sand... I was curious, so I peeked around the baskets. You saw me and ran over so fast you scared me half to death." He laughed, remembering. "I startled back and fell on my butt and started to cry, and you plopped down on your knees in front of me and started to cry too, in pure sympathy."

Lance laughed, too, and Pidge grinned. On the other side of the fire, the lions were all snuggled up together in a ball of multi-colored fur, wings hidden away. Everything was comfortable and home-like, and Hunk felt himself melting into it.

"Remember when the Boars called you as a paladin?" Lance asked. "You were so scared! The next time we stopped, you begged me to hide you on the ship so you could run away with us!"

Pidge gave Hunk a curious look. "You didn't want to be a paladin? And..." She paused. "You were called by the _Boars?_ But..."

Hunk nodded. "I know. The Boars call very few paladins. Perhaps one or two in a generation, usually none. But I was always a very devout child. I prayed to the gods of domesticity and homely comfort every single day, asking for the safety of my village and my family, for good crops and good fishing, and for good winds and calm seas for Lance, too, as I was too young and naive to understand that the Boars have no dominion over the sea. And one day, yes, I received a vision. Moccus and Mindris called me to be their champion, to protect the common people as their paladin. It was amazing, overwhelming. And absolutely terrifying."

Lance looked up at him over his shoulder, fondness shining in his eyes. "Hunk never wanted to be a hero. He wanted to stay at home and be with his family. But hiding on the ship didn't work out, either."

Hunk shook his head. "The rocking made me sick. We were found out pretty quickly."

Pidge smiled, gentle and thoughtful. "How did you come to accept your calling, then?"

"Lance helped." Hunk sighed, feeling Lance's weight shift with the movement. "He told me stories about how fun it was to travel to all sorts of places and meet lots of people, to see new sights and try new foods." He chuckled. "Have to admit, that was the part that caught my attention the most."

"Nothing wrong with that," Pidge murmured.

"Hunk's village helped, too," Lance said. "They were all so proud. One of their own, a _paladin!_ Called by the _Boars!_ I know you're not a bard, Pidge, so you might not have studied much history, but you surely know that every paladin of the Boars has been a great hero, a mighty defender of the common man."

"I've heard the stories. Everyone has."

Hunk grimaced. "Everyone in my village has heard them, too. But yes, they helped. At first it was...awful. So much pressure, so many expectations. But my parents told me that I didn't have to do it. No one's fate is sealed, not at any point in their lifetime. If I didn't want to be a paladin, I didn't have to accept the call. I could stay at home and farm the coconuts or look for shells. But... I thought about it, and gradually it stopped being quite so terrifying."

"Everyone pitched in," Lance said. "The smith in Hunk's village traveled to Sura City to learn new techniques so she could make a good set of armor for him. The farmers and cartsmen all fought over which kind of horse to give him. And the retired adventurer in the village, Silas, was it? He took Hunk under his wing and taught him the basics of combat and survival."

"Yeah." Hunk looked up at the stars through the trees, watching sparks from the fire chase upward on the warm drafts of air. "It wasn't quick, and it wasn't overnight, but eventually I stopped being scared. By the time I turned eighteen and headed out for my grand adventure, I was excited to go."

He looked down at Lance's dark hair, resting on his shoulder. He felt himself tensing, though he fought it. He didn't want to ruin the relaxed, homey atmosphere, but he couldn't help himself. "And at that time, I thought you were dead."

Lance sighed and leaned back against him even more heavily. "I know," he said. "I'm sorry. I had a rough time of it, and I'll tell you about it, but it's over now. I met Pidge and went on a quest, and now we met up with you, and everything is good. Great, even. Hey, I haven't shown you yet what I can do!"

Hunk raised his eyebrows. He knew Lance was trying to distract him, but gods curse it, it was working. "Oh, yeah? What is it?"

"Magic, Hunk," Lance said solemnly. "I can do magic."

Hunk snorted. "I know. Prestidigitation, right? You're a full-fledged bard, you can do magic. I get it."

"No, Hunk. You don't get it. Not yet. I can do normal bard spells, yes. But I can also do...this!"

Lance leaned back against his shoulder, raising one leg and one arm with massive drama. And all along the line of his arm came a burst of beautiful blue-white energy, flaring upward into a outpouring of magic that flew from his fingers up into the air with a swirl of sparkling light and the crackling sound of ice. "Ray of Frost!"

Hunk couldn't help himself. He caught his breath in a gasp of awe, then laughed in pure delight. It was just a low-ranked ice spell, practically nothing for a wizard or a sorcerer, but it was beautiful. Gorgeous. And Lance's presentation added to the drama, of course. He wondered if Lance incorporated it into his bardic performances.

The Ray of Frost faded into the darkness above them. Lance let his limbs fall down, then craned his head back to look at Hunk again. He was smiling, not a little smugly, but Hunk couldn't blame him. "See that? That's not a normal bard spell."

"It's not?" Hunk blinked. It wasn't like he had memorized the different lists of spells that all magic users could learn, but that... Right. Bard spells usually had to do with sound or sight, and healing, of course. Ice magic... That was a damage-dealing spell. More the purvue of sorcerers and wizards who specialized in offensive magic, rather than the supportive role of a bard.

Pidge shook her head. "Remember how Lance said I grew up in a family of wizards? Yeah. I studied magic. It's definitely not a normal bard spell. The first time I saw Lance use it, I was bleeding out in the street, so I didn't think to question it at the time. But now..."

"How did it happen?" Hunk asked, voice low. "When did you start being able to use ice magic?"

Lance looked across the fire toward the little pile of lions. Solemnity fell over him like a shroud, hiding away the frivolity and lightheartedness of a bard showing off around a fire. "It was after I met Blue. I don't know if it's related, but..."

He drew a deep breath, then sat up and looked seriously into Hunk's face. "Listen, buddy. There's a lot Pidge and I need to tell you. A lot. We'll try to break it to you a little more gently than it was broken to us, but... It's not gonna be easy to hear, all right? Please believe us, we're not all that happy about it, either."

Hunk blinked, but sat up straighter and turned his body to face Lance more fully. His delicious dinner sat heavily in his stomach. He didn't know what this was about, but he was ready to listen.

Lance drew a breath. "Right. So, two years ago, a massive storm washed me overboard, and I ended up in Sura City. Also two years ago, Pidge's father and brother were in an expedition to the Dragon Waste. An expedition that disappeared with all hands..."

He kept going. There was a lot. Hunk listened, barely blinking. Sometimes he even forgot to breathe.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was fading from sky, the horizon lit in bands of yellow and orange, when Pidge stopped working on the map she'd been drawing in the dirt with a stick and looked up. She glanced at the sky, then turned her gaze to Lance. "It's almost time."

Lance nodded. Hunk watched, mystified, as the two manuevered themselves into a clearer space. They pulled Hunk along with them, positioning him between their two bodies. They were still sitting on the ground, lounging by the campfire, but now there was an empty space in front of them and they were gazing expectantly into nothing. "Uh, guys? What are we doing?"

They had been in the middle of discussing the Frog cult, the way their camp was set up in the middle of the swamp and the forces Lance and Pidge had seen when they were captured. After all of the weighty matters that they'd discussed, so much that had left Hunk's head reeling and his heart faint, it had felt like a relief to talk about a problem that was much smaller, closer, and easier to handle. Hunk had never thought that fighting an entire cult of crazy Frog followers would seem _manageable,_ but apparently this was his life now.

Pidge and Lance gave each other a glance. "Oh, we forgot to mention," Lance said. "Allura has been contacting us every evening at twilight, just to keep in touch."

"Allura. That's the elf lady back at Sura City? The inn owner?" One of the last survivors of fallen Altea, the one who had informed Pidge and Lance of the burden that now rested on their shoulders. Hunk had been caught up in comprehending just what the burden was, rather than dwelling on the messenger.

Pidge nodded. "She's a cleric, but she uses some relics that have strong teleportation effects. Like this one, which allows communication over long distances."

"Why twilight?" Hunk asked, curious despite himself. "Just because it's easy to keep track of when it will happen?"

"That's part of it," Lance said. "Gnomish pocketwatches would let us keep more precise time, but everyone has the sun."

"Also..." Pidge pushed her glasses up her nose. "Magic, as you know, is highly symbolic. Allura has said that her powers and her relics are the strongest and most easy to use at twilight. It's because they come from old Altea, and that magic is fading from the world, just as light fades at the end of day." Her mouth pressed in a grim line. "Only two survivors left, as far as we know. Allura says... She says Altean magic used to be the strongest at sunrise."

Well, that was...sad. Hunk grimaced and shook his head. "How long do we have to wait?"

"Probably not long," Lance said. "Don't be nervous, man. She's gonna love you."

"I'm not nervous," Hunk protested, indignant, but Lance chuckled and put his arm around his neck to tug him in against his side. Hunk felt himself relaxing before he had realized he was tense. Okay, well, maybe he was a little nervous. Just a little, though.

They waited for a few more minutes, chatting back and forth about inconsequential matters. Then the air in front of them began to shimmer and glow, and Pidge and Lance fell expectantly silent. Hunk watched with wide eyes as the shimmer coalesced into the face of a beautiful elf woman with long white hair. Two colorful mice rode on her shoulders, and a man's voice was audible in the background, whistling as he went about some kind of chore.

Allura was already smiling as the spell formed, but when she saw Hunk she smiled even wider. "Pidge! Lance! I'm happy to see that you have a friend with you. May I presume that this is another chosen by the lions?"

Lance nodded enthusiastically, and his arm tightened around Hunk's neck. "This is Hunk, Allura! Well, Tsuyoshi Lopamaua, that's his birth name. We've been friends since we were kids! He's a paladin, and his lion is yellow, and he named him Sunshine Boy, and he has a big enormous horse named Big Bart, and he rescued us from a cult of the Frog! That was just a little while ago, and already the three of us are great friends, and the lions are all sleeping in a little pile by the fire! It's so cute, I wish was skilled in the visual arts so I could make a permanent record. Oh, but I can do this!" He held out his free hand and created an illusion, quite solid in the air, exactly replicating the image of the three lions cuddling on the other side of the fire.

Allura's eyes wrinkled up at the corners as Lance babbled, and she outright laughed at the image. "That's wonderful!" She looked directly at Hunk. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Hunk. Or do you prefer your birth name?"

Hunk shook his head, trying to ignore the urge to hide behind Lance and let him speak for him. Allura seemed nice, but she was so regal and commanding that Hunk couldn't help feeling intimidated. "Hunk is fine," he squeaked, high-pitched enough that the mice on Allura's shoulders flicked their ears. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Hunk is fine. Lance started calling me that when we were young, telling me that I was big and strong and I could do anything, because I was a hunk. I think he meant to use a different word, but that one stuck." He smiled nostalgically. "Pretty soon I was telling everyone to call me that instead of Tsuyoshi. I don't mind my birth name, it's beautiful, but I'm Hunk now."

Allura nodded. "Thank you, Hunk. My name is Allura." She gestured at the mice on her shoulders. "This is Chuchule, and this is Chulatt." She turned away from the image for a moment. "Coran! Come and meet Lance's friend!"

"Oh, the boy has a new friend?" said the whistler in the background, and a beaming man with an orange mustache and two more mice on his shoulders crowded into the image. He laughed, loud and delighted, at the sight of Hunk. "Ah, you're a big, strong one, aren't you? Good to meet you, lad! I am Coran."

Allura pointed at his shoulder mice. "This is Platt and Plachu." The four mice squeaked in greeting and performed tiny bows.

Hunk's nerves and shyness were melting away, curiosity overtaking him. He had so, so many questions, but for now he settled for a big smile and a wave at the mice. "Good to meet you all."

"I overheard a bit of the conversation. You're the yellow guardian, eh?" Coran pulled his mustache.

Hunk nodded. "That's what they tell me."

"Well, don't worry too much about it for now," Coran said with boundless cheer. "You'll discover what it means as your journey continues. For now, you would be better served just enjoying each other's company as you adventure together. Looks like the three of you are good companions already, that's heartening to see."

Hunk looked left and right, where Pidge and Lance were both leaning on his shoulders, though at vastly different heights. He grinned at Coran. "That's true. We're buddies."

Allura sobered, looking at Hunk seriously, then to Lance and Pidge. "Things are likely to accelerate now that the three of you are together. There's a bit of a...tipping point, you might say. You are stronger together in many different ways."

Lance raised his head from Hunk's shoulder to look back at her. "You mean more than physically stronger, don't you?"

Allura nodded. "There is a...a metaphysical bond, from what the legends say. Between each of you and your particular lion herald, but also among the five guardians. It was birthed when your lions chose you, but now it will grow stronger and stronger. You may begin to have strange dreams, feel fears and desires that you don't recognize. If and when that happens, I ask you not to be afraid and not to fight it. In time it will all make sense to you. The more open you are with each other, the easier the process will be and the more powerful you will become."

The three looked at each other uneasily, and Pidge cleared her throat. "I'm...I'm not sure I like that idea, Allura. I'm rather protective of my own mindscape. The idea of other people kind of automatically scrying on it, whether they want to or not..."

"Aw, Pidge." Lance pouted theatrically, but his face was uneasy. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, either. "You don't trust us?"

Pidge shook her head and leaned forward to meet his eye around Hunk's bulk. "I trust you fine. And I've only known Hunk for a few hours, but I'm starting to trust him, too. But there are two more of us out there, remember? We haven't met yet, but Allura is saying that we're already connected on some level." She looked back to Allura with something like challenge in her eyes. "It's something that we didn't choose, and we didn't even know about it when it happened. That makes me...wary."

Allura's face fell. Pidge grimaced, but didn't take back what she'd said. Her eyes were hard. This was an old wound, never healed.

Coran hummed and stroked his mustache with his thumb and forefinger. "It is a cause of great regret to both of us that all of these weighty matters were put into motion without your knowledge or consent. It was easier back in the days of Altea, when we knew that if the lions needed to call a new generation of guardians, the chosen would be drawn from the existing population of Altean elves. We all grew up with the legends, the knowledge that we could be called upon to defend our nation, our people, and we all followed the same god. With a few exceptions, of course, there's always a few... Now, with you three...you five...that cultural understanding and background did not exist. It is truly a shame. If we could alter the circumstances, we would."

Allura raised her head. Her jaw was firm. "Still, I have to believe that the lions would not have chosen you if they did not believe that you would have consented, had you been given the chance. The god of Altea is not a cruel or domineering god. They would not take anything that wouldn't be given willingly."

Pidge made a skeptical noise. "That's a nice thing to believe, but you have to remember that we don't follow your god. You haven't even told us their name, except that they're not really the Panther."

Allura grimaced, and her eyes flicked away, probably toward a window. "Our time grows short." She looked back to Pidge. "I'm sorry that I must cut off this discussion, but please, Pidge. I know this is difficult, and I am asking far too much. But once again, I will plead for your trust. I hope we may succeed in earning it."

Pidge's mouth pressed into a thin line. She nodded sharply. "I hope that, too."

"Farewell!" Coran waved at them, determinedly cheerful. "Again, Hunk, we are very, _very_ happy to meet you. I look forward to seeing you someday in person. Be safe and well on your journey! Take care of those two for me, will you? They do like to get into trouble if you don't keep an eye on them."

Hunk laughed, loud and sincere. "That's true. I'll take good care of our sweet bard and our slippery rogue, no worries." He thumped his chest with a closed fist. "I'm a mighty, hunky paladin, after all."

Coran guffawed, still waving with both hands. The mice waved, too, and Allura smiled, small but genuine. Then the image shimmered, wavered, and vanished into a faint golden mist that dissipated as the last shreds of sunlight faded from the sky.

Pidge held still for a moment, tapping her fingers on her raised knees. Then she pulled away from Hunk and abruptly lurched to her feet. "I'm gonna go take a walk. Check the perimeter."

"Have fun," Lance said, as she stalked off into the night. Hunk looked to his old buddy.

"There's more to the story, isn't there? Something happened with Pidge? You mentioned that you two are on a quest to rescue her family, and that they were lost in the Dragon Waste, but we didn't go deeper than that. What happened to her?"

Lance grimaced, his eyes dark and hooded in the flickering firelight. "We were _just_ talking about trust, so I'm not sure how much I should say..." He held still for a moment, then turned toward the direction Pidge had disappeared. "Hey, Pidge!" he hollered at the top of his lungs. "Can I tell Hunk everything you told me?"

"Yeah, sure!" she yelled back, and Lance turned back to Hunk with a grin.

"Okay, that was easier than I expected. All right, so, about a month ago I was in Sura City serenading this house..."

This story was a lot more fun and exciting to listen to, though Hunk winced when Pidge was hurt, and before that when they both broke down and cried on the docks. Lance and Pidge had both been through a lot in the last two years. Hunk had thought his own entry into the larger world had been a little rough, but that was all down to his own anxiety and hang-ups. That was nothing next to losing your family and being homeless and alone, fighting against forces beyond your control. And Lance and Pidge had both gone through that, in slightly different ways. Hunk couldn't choose between them which had suffered more, and it was pointless to try.

When Lance was done. Hunk got up on his knees and gestured for Lance to do the same. Lance's eyebrows bent in confusion, but he did it, giving Hunk a hesitant grin. "Uh, yeah?"

Hunk reached forward and pulled him into a big, gut-busting hug. Lance wheezed, startled, then went limp against him. He wrapped his arms around Hunk in return and buried his head in his shoulder. Hunk rocked him gently, leaning his cheek against Lance's dark hair.

"I'm sorry, man," he said softly. "You suffered so much. I was mad at you for dying, you know. Mad at you for not being there when I set out on my grand adventure. We were going to go together, a bard and a paladin against the world, and when we couldn't... It sucked. It really sucked. I missed you so much. But if I'd known you were going through all that, without me there... I would have wished I was with you, instead of wishing that you were with me."

Lance held still for a long moment, breathing raggedly. Then he sniffled, and Hunk felt his tears wetting his shoulder. He wondered when the last time was that Lance had cried about this. If he'd ever given himself permission to cry, or if he was always too busy just surviving. Hunk held him tighter.

After a couple of minutes, Lance turned his head so he could speak. "You're a good man, Hunk. No matter what we missed, what we didn't get to do together... I'm glad we're both here now."

"Me too." Hunk gave him one last squeeze, then let go and leaned back. Lance sat back on his heels, then looked to the side and knuckled the remaining tears out of his eyes.

Hunk smiled. "Do you think Pidge would let me hug her, too?"

Lance gave him a grin. "I don't know. Never hurts to try, though."

She didn't. But Hunk was going to keep trying until she did.

That night, they had their first shared dream.


	4. Chapter 4

"This sucks," Pidge said, stumbling as she shoved a branch away from her face. Hunk caught her elbow before she went down into the swamp, and she sighed and straightened, then gave him a blank-eyed stare, the bags under her eyes prominent. "I feel like I have a...a dream hangover."

"None of us liked it, Pidge," Lance groused. He was leading the way back to the where he and Pidge had run into the Frog cultists, stomping determinedly through the swamp. "It was weird and unsettling and, and weird. Unless, maybe..." He gave Hunk a wide-eyed look. "Did you like it?"

Hunk heaved a sigh. "No, I didn't like it. It was scary. I felt like some huge monster was bearing down on me and I couldn't get away no matter how hard I tried." He was tired too, though he had been able to get back to sleep after the shared vision had roused them all from sound slumber and had them sitting up in the dark, gasping and sobbing for breath in collective agonized fear. Pidge, he was pretty sure, hadn't been able to sleep at all after that. No wonder she was exhausted and irritated.

Lance grunted and looked forward again. "It must have been a nightmare. But which of us did it belong to?"

None of them knew. They discussed it for a while longer, trying to figure out who the terrible dream had come from and how to prevent it in the future, but they all professed to not recognizing the sensation. Hunk usually slept well at night, his anxieties confined to daytime hours when his mind could run away with things, and Lance had always had a rather calm and sunny disposition that weathered most strife without letting it trouble him unduly. Pidge claimed that she had had nightmares after her family disappeared and when she first set out on her own, but they had faded as she had begun to feel more able to care for herself.

"It was like a kid's dream," Lance said thoughtfully. "A monster out there in the dark, coming to eat you, but you don't know what it is or where it's coming from. As you grow up and you learn about the real monsters and all the people out there keeping you safe, those dreams fade. It's the unknown that's the scariest part, especially when you're small and weak and can't defend yourself. I haven't had a dream like that since I was really, really small."

Hunk and Pidge both murmured assent. As strange as the dream had been for the fact that they had shared it, and had been able to sense each other within the dream, it had also been odd for the contents of the dream itself. In any case, they weren't any closer to figuring out what it was than they had been when they started discussing it, back when they woke up this morning and started making final preparations for their exursion into the swamp.

"Anyway, maybe it's not so strange," Hunk said. "We've all recently learned that we're chosen heroes of the world, expected to fight a vast and awful evil that's been biding its time for centuries. Who wouldn't have nightmares after learning something like that? Maybe it was mine, after all. I just found out about all of this last night, after all. I'm sorry I visited my fear on you, as well."

Lance reached over to pat his shoulder, and Pidge nodded miserably. "This sucks," she repeated, because it bore repeating.

"We're almost there," Lance said, and they paused, after finding a semi-solid patch of ground to stand on.

Pidge sneaked ahead to scout out the Frog camp, then returned. Everything was as she and Lance had remembered last night. Hunk drew from his limited store of divine magic to cast some protective spells on the three of them, boosting them for the coming fight, and they waded into it.

The plan was simple, the better for a brand-new team to find their feet together. Hunk would head into the melee and take the hits, keeping the fight concentrated on himself. Lance would hold back and provide support with magic. Pidge would bide her time, observing the enemies and judging their power levels, then sneak attack the most dangerous member of the group when the moment presented itself. That would most likely be the necromancer who was causing the trouble, and the followers would probably fall apart. If not, they would keep fighting until it was done.

Before they went there, though, Hunk had insisted that they try the diplomacy route. Lance and Pidge were not exactly on board at first. "You know they _kidnapped_ us," Lance said, his voice dripping with skepticism.

"They were probably going to kill us so they had fresh human corpses to experiment with, then raise us as undead and send us after the living," Pidge said, with an edge of macabre glee at the suggestion.

Hunk made a face. "You don't know that. Maybe they'd been planning to let you off with a warning. You were trespassing, after all. It's not kidnapping when you just stumble onto their property. It's...wrongful imprisonment, maybe." As a future arbiter of justice, Hunk had spent a very boring amount of time studying Amefusa's laws.

Lance scoffed. "The swamp doesn't belong to them! They're just squatting."

"Squatters have rights too, especially if they've been there for a long time. From their perspective, you two were the ones in the wrong."

"I don't think crazy people _have_ a perspective," Pidge said.

Hunk sighed. "Still, can we at least try talking to them first? They haven't technically done anything evil yet, so we're morally bound to offer them a chance. If it all goes wrong and they start attacking us, then we can go with the battle plan."

Lance and Pidge were still hesitating. Hunk looked at Lance and made his eyes deliberately large, bottom lip sticking out a bit. Lance stared back at him, stricken. Pidge looked confused, switching her gaze between Hunk and Lance.

It didn't take long. Lance cracked and threw his hands into the air. "Fine! We'll try it your way. But I'm the one with the charisma, so I'll do the talking. You can stand with me, though. Pidge will hide, as planned."

Hunk nodded enthusiastically, grinning. Pidge made a noise of disgust and flopped backward onto her blanket roll. Lance just looked tired.

So here they were standing in the middle of a swamp. They had walked right up to a Frog cult, which currently consisted of one necromancer and five followers. All were of indeterminate race and gender, since they were covered with mud and had stuck grass and weeds into their ragged clothes. When Hunk and Lance approached, they were in the middle of singing a hymn to the Frog. At least, that was what Hunk assumed they were doing, as they sat there in a circle and swayed back and forth, humming to the sky in no language Hunk had ever heard.

"Um." Hunk cleared his throat. "Excuse me."

The song cut off, and six sets of eyes darted to look at him, the whites of their eyes startling in the dark, muddy expanse of their faces. Hunk's heart jumped, and he had to suppress a shudder. Creepy. They were so creepy.

Lance didn't seem to feel it, or perhaps he was better at hiding his reaction than Hunk. He stepped forward, giving the small cult a casual wave. "Hi, there. I'm Lance, a bard from the southern sea. This is Hunk, a paladin of the Boars. We've been asked by the folks of a couple of neighboring villages to come and check up on you. How are you doing?"

The cultists said nothing, only stared at them. Insects buzzed. An animal in the distance plopped into the water with a thick, muffled splash.

Lance nodded as if they had said something. "All right, good, good, all good. So, listen. You gotta stop raising animal corpses and letting them wander around, okay? It bothers people."

Silence. Stares.

Lance wagged a finger. "And no raising sentient races, you hear me? No goblins, no bugbears, no humans or elves or dwarves or halflings. We get that necomancy is just another kind of magic...a creepy, creepy kind of magic...but there's a point where it crosses a line. If you want to raise some dead animals and have really stupid, shambling pets, that's fine. That's your business. But don't let it bother the neighbors, and don't defile the dead. And _especially_ don't attack the living. That's just...that's just rude, am I right?"

He laughed. He was going for casual and friendly and charming, but Hunk heard the stress underneath it, making it too high and quick for Lance's normal tone. Hopefully the cultists wouldn't know or notice the difference.

The cultist Hunk had pegged as the leader, the one with pink and green flowers caked into his or her hair, slowly stood up. Still staring at Lance, arms limp at their sides, as if this person was also an undead zombie. If it weren't for the breath heaving in the spindly chest, Hunk might have thought he or she was dead.

"The Frog demands what the Frog demands." The necromancer's voice was creaky and wispy, like the noxious wind blowing through the trees of the swamp. It sounded male, though. Hunk was relieved to have a gender to attach to the crazy figure he was facing. "Fealty to the Frog requires a willingness to do that which is distasteful to the ordinary. We are extraordinary, and we follow an extraordinary god, so we will do that which is outside the bounds of neighborly politeness, to say the least."

Lance flapped a hand. "Okay, sure, I get it, the Frog likes crazy, so you gotta do crazy. But can you swear to us that you will not raise sentient races as undead, and you will not attack the living? If you can swear that to us, we'll leave you be."

"I swear nothing to you, child of water and salt. I swear only to the Frog. The Frog demands what the Frog demands."

"So will you swear to the Frog not to... You know, what I just said? Getting tired of repeating myself, here."

The necromancer slowly shook his head. "The Frog demands what the Frog demands."

Lance sighed. "Right. So if the Frog demands that you raise undead and attack, blah blah blah, you'll do it. Hunk, you good with this?"

Hunk nodded. "I'm good." He hefted his broadsword and looked at the necromancer over the heads of his followers. "We're done talking."

The followers rushed him. Lance backed off hastily and started talking loudly, telling a story. It was too late to try to fascinate the enemies, so he was just going with a bolstering magic for Hunk and Pidge. Hunk couldn't make out the words more than being aware that it was a story of the Wolf and the Mongoose fighting against evil, as he was too busy trying to fend off blows from five different directions. But he could feel Lance's magic flowing through him, making him a little bit faster, a little bit more precise with his blocks and his blows. This was the first time he had felt Lance's magic like this, the first time they had fought together side by side in a real battle, and he couldn't help but revel in it.

He used the flat of his blade, not wanting to do lethal damage. He just needed to knock out the followers so they could capture the necromancer, then they could take him to the nearest good-aligned temple to be incarcerated or converted to a new faith. This was Hunk's first fight against non-monsters, and he had no stomach for killing them, even in self-defense. They still hadn't done anything truly evil, not yet, and they were in the thrall of a mad god and a mad leader, besides. They didn't deserve to die.

He was peripherally aware of the necromancer beginning to chant a spell, but didn't have the time or space to stop it. Where was Pidge? She should be taking care of that one.

A thunk, and the wispy, breathy voice cut off with a moist squelch. Hunk looked up long enough to see that the necromancer had fallen to the ground, Pidge's knife buried in his ribs. He drew a shaking, shuddering breath, then forced out the last words of his spell.

A cascade of tiny undead animals began pouring out of the grass and climbing out of the swamp all around them. Frogs, lizards, rats, all small, all rotting and making awful, croaking noises from their deteriorating throats as they shambled toward Hunk and his friends with relentless speed. Hunk gasped and stumbled back from the cultists as the undead swarm began to surround him, eyes wide. The cultists Hunk hadn't knocked out already backed away, laughing high and gleeful and staring with huge, mad eyes, watching this new entertainment.

"Hunk!" Lance's voice, high with distress. He was being swarmed, too. He was shooting his frost magic down at his feet, but the ice spell was too small and the swarm was too large. Hunk heard Pidge cursing from up in a tree where she was hiding. Her knife was recalled from the necromancer's chest, but it wasn't much use against a swarm, either.

This was a job for a paladin. Hunk drew a deep breath, then reached his free hand to his neck and pulled out the holy symbol on the chain there. It was made of forge-stamped red copper, a stylized boar's head, complete with tusks, inside a circle which represented the close community of friends and neighbors that the Boars championed and defended. Hunk held it high so it glinted in the sun. "Turn undead!"

The divine magic of the Boars poured through him. To Hunk, the power of the Boars always felt like plants, like grass and grain and tasty vegetables, growing in an instant from tiny seeds to full harvest, enough to nourish a village through the winter. It felt nourishing and hearty and wholesome, satisfying to the body and the soul.

The undead swarm was dangerous for its numbers, but each individual didn't have the strength to withstand this force of pure goodness. In an instant, the vast majority of the creatures surrounding Hunk and Lance vanished in a flash of brilliant white light, turned to ash. With only a few creatures remaining, they were able to stomp them underfoot. Pidge even descended from her tree to help.

The Frog cultists whined in disappointment to have the show ended so suddenly, then fell back to the necromancer and crowded around him, weeping and wailing and calling on him to bring up more undead animals to cheer them. The necromancer was unconscious, but still breathing, bleeding from the wound Pidge had put into his side. Hunk needed to get over there and stabilize him before he died, but at least the followers seemed too demoralized to fight anymore, as they had suspected would happen.

All in all, the plan had gone off almost without a hitch. For a first battle with a new party, it was extremely gratifying. Hunk squished one last undead frog under his plated armor sole, shuddering as he felt the soft body squish into the grass with a release of putrid, rotting scent. Then he raised his head and grinned at Pidge and Lance, and they grinned back.

They were a good team. They had known they would be, and now it was confirmed.


	5. Chapter 5

It was morning, a few weeks after they had first met up. Hunk sat by the fire, stirring up the coals to cook some oatcakes for their breakfast. Lance lounged against the gear they had packed up for the day's travel as he shot shards of ice into the air for Blue to chase. Pidge sat cross-legged on the ground with a parchment book in one hand and a quill in the other, the better to make notes on their latest shared dream.

"I feel like they're getting clearer," Hunk said, staring into the coals. "Do you think we're heading in the right direction?"

They had been gradually wandering farther north and east, out of the settled lands in the center of Amefusa and into the wilds. At first they had told themselves they were heading this way because that was where the jobs were taking them, each rumor of ruins that might hold treasure, each village that asked them to hunt down a monster farther north each time. About a week ago, the three of them had confessed to each other that they felt drawn in this direction. After that it was just a matter of figuring out why.

The dreams. They didn't come every night, but they were becoming more and more powerful. After a couple more nightmares that none of the three recognized as their own, they acknowledged that it had to be coming from one of their missing party members. One or the other was in grave danger, or had been in the past and now dreamt of it in terrible, overwhelming visions. As the dreams gained strength, they also gained clarity. Small details were beginning to stand out, scraps of information that Pidge and Hunk and Lance could grab and write down and try to understand.

Pidge had the best memory of the three of them, as well the writing materials, so she kept the notes. Now, she looked up and nodded in answer to Hunk's question. "We're seeing more details each time. We must be getting closer to where our missing teammate is."

"We're hearing more, too," Lance muttered. A collective shudder passed over the three of them. The visuals were disturbing enough, but the sounds...

Sometimes they heard the voice of the person the dream belonged to. It sounded male, young, afraid. They heard him panting in the dark, harsh with terror. Heard him pleading, sometimes. Pleading for someone to stop, for the pain to cease, for rescue. Sometimes they heard another voice, female, cackling, pleased.

"At least last night wasn't too bad," Pidge said. "The dream started out kind of nice, even. Something about a traveling companion. What was the name...?" She ran a finger back over her notes. "Keith. He said the name Keith. I wonder who that is."

Lance snorted in disgust, and the other two looked at him. Hunk's eyebrows were raised to the headband he used to keep his hair out of his eyes when he was out of his armor. "What was that for?"

Lance shook his head. "Nothing. I met someone with that name, years ago. We didn't get along."

"You met someone named Keith?" Pidge repeated, bemused.

Lance waved a hand vaguely north, toward the Craglin Mountains that they were approaching. "In one of the northern ports. We only stopped there that one time, and he said that was the first and only time he intended to visit that city, so we'll never meet again. I'm fine with that."

Hunk grinned as he stirred a mixing bowl of oat flour, butter, and milk for their cakes. "I know that face. There's a story there. What happened with this Keith person?"

Lance shook his head sourly and looked at Pidge. "Never mind that. The dream is more important. You done, Pidge?"

She nodded and lifted the book so they could see the symbols she'd been carefully inscribing. "Does that look right?"

Lance sat up and leaned closer, squinting. "I think so. That top bar on the character in the middle..." He pointed, careful not to touch as the ink wasn't dry. "I think it might have been a little thicker?"

Pidge nodded and turned the book around so she could look at it. "Yeah, I think you're right. I can fix that."

Lance sighed and leaned back against the bags of gear again. Blue whirled in the air, waiting for another ice bullet to catch. He grinned at her and shot one past her position, and she spun on her heel, butterfly wings flapping, and raced off to chase it.

In the dream, the symbols appeared in long strings of glowing purple-light, and all three of them were certain that they were runes for some kind of spell. The runes didn't seem to be connected to anything, floating in the darkness like a malevolent specter. The voice of the dreamer seemed frightened of them, near terrified, but he could not escape them. They chased him like a monster.

The nature of dreams made it hard to hold onto written characters. They tended to waver in and out of focus, as if they were viewed through a thick layer of moving water. Sometimes there were just a few runes standing alone, and sometimes there were too many to count, vast rows and columns of spinning spellwork all moving in different directions.

Each time they saw some in the dream, Pidge and Lance and Hunk did their very best to remember everything they could in the morning and write it all down. Then they showed the spell runes to Allura when she contacted them that evening. None of the three knew the script, and they had had no luck in decyphering it on their own. So far Allura had not been able to figure out what the spells were, either, but she recognized the letters.

They were Galran. Because of course they were.

Lance laughed as Blue cartwheeled through the air, snapping at several ice chunks that he shot in her direction. Pidge reached her hand up to scritch Holly, who was draped over her head watching her work on her notes. Sunshine Boy weaved around Hunk, as usual, hoping for scraps from the cooking process. Hunk always had plenty to share. Hunk wasn't sure that the lions even needed to eat, but far be it from him to deny his Sunny anything that gave him pleasure.

Pidge finished her alteration to the spell rune, then fanned her hand over the page to help it dry. She looked up Lance, tilting her head as she watched him play with Blue. "Hey, it just occurred to me... What's up with a bard giving his animal familiar basically the most uncreative name ever? It's like if you had a pet monkey and you just called it Monkey." She gestured at Blue in a way that probably wasn't meant to be mocking, but judging by the look on Lance's face, he was taking it that way. "Just...why?"

Lance laughed shortly, a sound Hunk had heard before. It was the kind of laugh Lance brought out when he was trying to hide the fact that he was hurt, trying to brush it off as nothing. Hunk looked up from his mixing with a heavy frown for Pidge, but she wasn't looking at him.

Blue sensed Lance's distress, too. She tucked her wings and dove down into his lap, then cuddled into his chest and stomach and rubbed her head under his chin, purring like a tiny thunderstorm. Lance's shoulders visibly relaxed, and he reached up to scruff over her fur with his palms. "I don't know what to say, Pidge. I was...I mentioned that I was sick and delirious when Blue and I met, right?"

Pidge's face went from mocking to dismayed. "Oh, right."

Lance shrugged. "All I remember is this...this blur of blue fur filling my vision. Then I felt her warmth at my side, heard her purring against my chest. It was so comforting, just not being alone anymore, that was I finally able to get some rest. I barely woke up when Allura and Coran found me, and when I came to at The Crystal Lion, they were already calling my girl Blue. Apparently I'd been muttering that word over and over in my sleep, and Blue seemed happy with the name, so I never changed it. If I'd been myself at the time, maybe I would have come up with something more creative. But Blue works." Blue licked his face. He smiled down at her and ruffled her ears, holding her head cradled in his hands. "Doesn't it, beautiful? We're happy together, aren't we? Aren't we?" She licked him again, harder, and he laughed.

Pidge's face had softened. He looked over at her, still smiling. "Anyway, how did you come up with the name Holly?"

Pidge flushed and looked away. "...It just came to me."

"No kidding?" Lance's eyes glinted, his tone lifted in a teasing cadence.

She looked up at him with a frown. "It's just what I thought when I saw her for the first time, okay. I thought that she looked holly green."

Lance guffawed, broad and delighted. "So you named your lion after a color, too."

Hunk grinned at them both. "Hey, it's no mystery where I got Sunny's name. He's bright as sunshine, and he's my boy."

Lance smiled back at him, warm and fond. "Nah, I never doubted that, big guy. Sunshine Boy suits him. Suits you both." Hunk blushed and looked back to his cooking, and Lance switched his attention back to Pidge. "Hey, how did you and Holly meet, then? She just showed up one day?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Pidge rolled her eyes upward to look up at Holly. "It was a year after my father and brother disappeared. I'd already disguised myself and left Garrison City and my mom behind. I was in this little village, and I holed up in a hayloft for the night. When I woke up, Holly was there, looking at me nose to nose. I thought she was a cat who belonged to the farm and had somehow gotten into some green dye or something, but then she started following me, and I figured out that no one else could see her, and then I saw her wings... Yeah, it was strange. But from the beginning I felt this sort of...connection to her, I guess. It always seemed like we belonged together, even though I had no idea where she came from."

Hunk and Lance nodded. They had both felt very similar things when they met their lions. "It was like that with me and Sunny, too," Hunk said. "He showed up one morning not long after I left my village to be a wandering paladin. I figured he was a blessing from the Boars. He just felt...so comfortable. So right. It was the same feeling I got when I prayed and I felt like the Boars were encouraging me and telling me I was on the right path."

"Well, it turns out they are divine, though not sent by the Boars." Pidge reached up and scratched her fingers through Holly's fur. Holly closed her eyes, small chest rumbling with contentment. "I thought...I don't know. I thought maybe it was some remnant of my early wizard training. I never got far enough along to even choose a school of magic to concentrate in, but I thought maybe somehow...I'd gotten a familiar anyway."

Her tone was wistful, and Hunk's heart clenched. Pidge had mentioned before, with bitterness in her voice, that she could never be a wizard now because she had started down the path of a rogue. Hunk had tried to tell her that no one's fate was set in stone, and she could always choose to learn magic if she wanted to, but she seemed set in her belief that she was stuck as a rogue now. And she was a very good rogue, certainly. She seemed determined to be the best rogue she could be, even though it was not the role she would have chosen without the loss of her family.

"Sea singer bards get familiars, too," Lance said thoughtfully. "It's usually a parrot or a monkey, though. But yeah, I thought, too... I thought I was just lucky to get Blue a little early." He smiled and patted her. "And I am. I'm lucky."

The conversation turned to other things. Hunk made their breakfast, and they ate, with the usual high compliments from Pidge and Lance. Hunk smiled, accepting them. They had smoothed over any hurt raised by Pidge's ill-chosen words without difficulty. They truly were perfectly matched to party together.

That day, their path led them up into the foothills of the Craglins. They left the stretching farmland of mid-Amefusa behind and found themselves in a rocky, wooded area. They made good time, Hunk riding Big Bart in his heavy armor and the other two on foot. When they crossed into the trees, a comfortable silence fell over the group. None of them had ever been in a true forest before, Pidge coming from a city, Hunk from a coast and Lance from the sea. Sure, they had seen little copses and groves of trees in their journey through the farmland, but nothing like this. The sights and sounds and smells were all different and new, and the three of them were all occupied trying to take it in.

Pidge was especially quiet, looking around at everything with large eyes. Usually as they traveled Holly would range far and wide, constantly diving into bushes or climbing into the tops of trees in search of something new. Today, though, she rode quietly on Pidge's shoulder, looking around with her. It was as if they were absorbing this new terrain together, learning and growing as one. Pidge occasionally reached up to rest her hand on Holly's back as they moved, reassuring herself that she was there.

Lance and Blue were more playful, as usual, chasing each other now and then or pausing to pounce on a fluttering leaf or a fallen branch, though they also had plenty of appreciation for the beauties around them. Hunk felt contentment and pleasure welling inside his chest, resonating with Sunny riding on his shoulder. Hunk was curious about the forest, too, wondering what new foods they might find here, or what animals they might be able to hunt to augment their meals. For the time, though, he was enjoying just absorbing the sights and sounds around them.

They stopped for noon meal on a flat rock under a shady tree, a light breeze sweeping over their faces and drying the sweat of travel. Pidge was still quiet, looking around at everything while Holly lay beside her with her head on Pidge's knee, ears flicking as she stared away into the forest and heard the sounds of various animals and birds. Hunk sent a smile in Pidge's direction, then waved a hand when that wasn't enough to grab her attention.

Finally, Pidge gave a slow blink and looked in Hunk's direction. "Did you want something?"

Hunk shook his head, still smiling. "Just wondered what you're thinking. You've been pretty quiet since we hit the trees. Is something bothering you?"

Pidge's forehead wrinkled, but she gave a shake of negation. "Not really...bothering..." She rolled her head back to look up into the leaves above them, watching them shift and sway in the breeze. "I mean, I've seen trees before. But never quite this many, not quite like this. This place feels...old."

Lance nodded, eyes sparkling and serious at once. "Abuelita always warned me about forests." He wagged his finger in imitation of his absent grandmother. "'There's deep magic back in the darkness where the light never touches. Don't you wander too far from the shore, Alejandro. Stay where the light is bright and strong and be sure you can always smell the good strong salt. It will keep you safe.'"

Pidge blinked at him, then grinned, slow and delighted. "Alejandro? Is that your secret name?"

Lance's eyes widened, and he smacked his face with a groan. "Dragon's eyes. It slipped out of me. I must really trust this gringita." He heaved a weary sigh and looked her in the face. "Yes, that's my name among my family. Alejandro. Don't use it, okay? It's bad luck. Just call me Lance."

Pidge tilted her head. "Why is it bad luck?"

"I'm surprised that you studied magic and you don't know this, little sister. There are magic beings who can use your name to steal your soul, especially if you are far from home and not rooted to the local land. Members of my family always use traveling names when we leave the sea, for any reason." Pride puffed up his chest and thrust out his chin. "We always come home safe. Unless we don't follow the rules."

"So if someone doesn't make it home, you assume that they didn't follow the rules?"

Lance flapped a long, brown hand back and forth in the air. "Of course. That's how it works. As long as you listen to your abuelitos and do what you're told, you'll come home just fine."

"But aren't you already disobeying the rules, being this far from the coast inside an old forest?"

Lance hunched his shoulders and looked around, expression suddenly paranoid. "Yes, a little. But that just means we have to be extra careful to follow the other rules. Especially about the names. Right, Blue?" Blue rubbed her head on his arm, and he grinned and stroked her back, then looked to Pidge, his face utterly earnest. "I'm glad you and Hunk are already using nicknames for traveling, even if it's not for the same reason I am. We'll be safer because of that."

Pidge grinned. "Sure, Lance. Whatever you say."

Lance's paranoia was a fleeting thing. As soon as lunch was over and they set off again, he and Blue strode confidently ahead on the path. Lance was singing a song Hunk didn't recognize, one he must have learned in the city while they were separated. Lance always shared his new songs with Hunk every time he came back to Hunk's village.

Lance had a good voice, and he was a good singer, though he wasn't as accomplished with music as he was with storytelling. He was nice and loud, though, years on the sea having built up his lungs. Someday he meant to lead the chanties for a whole fleet of ships, after all, so he needed a voice that would carry.

The song didn't exactly echo under the trees, but there was a difference in the sound here than in the farmland. A resonance, a closeness, as the notes rebounded off the trunks and shook in the leaves. Lance seemed quite taken with it, throwing his head back and closing his eyes as he roared his song into the air.

"I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide is a wild call and a clear call that cannot be denied. And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, and the flung spray and _aaghhooop!_ "

Lance's voice cut off in a startled scream as he disappeared from the path in front of them with a scraping of rock and a rattling of foliage. Hunk was too far away to prevent it and could only watch as Lance slid away, hands flung into the air in a vain effort to catch himself. "Lance, _Lance!"_ Hunk bellowed, throwing himself down from Big Bart and pounding toward the place where he'd seen his buddy vanish.

Pidge was faster, not weighed down by half her weight in plate mail. She darted to the spot like a small brown bird in freefall, Holly winging in front of her, then threw herself stomach-down on the ground where Lance had fallen. Hunk huffed and puffed to the spot and leaned over, trying to see.

By some evil chance, Lance had happened to not be paying attention just when the narrow path they were following strayed close to the edge of a cliff. It had been disguised with a screen of low bushes, too, so even if he'd been watching carefully, Lance might not have seen the drop-off. As it was, he had lost his footing and slid some twenty below, and was now clinging to a rocky protuberance, staring up at them with his face pale as sea foam and his eyes wide as saucers, Blue wheeling in distress beside him in the air.

"Pidge! Hunk!" he called up to them, his voice high and strained.

"Lance!" Hunk hollered back. He looked around frantically and spotted Big Bart trundling slowly up the path to meet him. "Hang on, I'm gonna check and see if I have some rope..."

Lance squeaked as his grip faltered and he slid further down the cliff, and Hunk whirled back to him, his heart in his throat. "Lance!"

"Wait." Pidge's voice was strangely calm. Hunk went still, staring at her. His heart was pounding in his chest, and every instinct screamed at him to get Lance to safety _now,_ but he felt himself compelled to stay where he was.

Pidge breathed out, slow and steady, and her eyes closed behind her glasses. Her fingers tightened on the edge of the cliff, and Holly descended and perched on her back, standing straight and tall and regal as a statue. Then Pidge opened her eyes and looked down at Lance.

"Entangle."

She named the spell easily, calmly, without the slightest waver in her voice. No hesitation, no doubt. She knew this would work, and she spoke the magic into existence, just like that.

Vines and branches flared to life all around Lance, springing from the cliff and wrapping around him, holding him tight and safe. He looked around, gaping in astonishment, as the spell spread in an instant with him as the epicenter, widening in a perfect circle along the side of the cliff. The greenery raced over the rock, covering it and consuming it, all the way up to the top of the cliff where Pidge and Hunk stood watching. A few tiny sprouts grew up between Pidge's splayed fingers and curled around her hands as if her caressing her, then subsided with a movement almost like a contented sigh.

Pidge opened her eyes and looked down at Lance. "Think you can climb up that, or should we get a rope and help?"

Lance swallowed. He looked around at the sudden greenery, then swallowed again. He stared up at Pidge and managed a shaky laugh, then tried for his customary cocky grin. "Hey, I'm a sailor, you know. I've been climbing rigging since I was a tot. I can climb up a...whatever this is. Entangled cliff."

Pidge nodded, almost gently, and smiled back. "I know you can. Don't worry. My plants and I will keep you safe. Holly says so."

"I believe you," Lance said fervently. His fingers tightened around the vines he was now holding, but it didn't seem like a gesture of fear so much as one of astonishment. "I'm pretty sure you can do anything, Pidge."

Pidge smiled, slow and wide and pure, her eyes sparkling in the bright sunlight. "I know, right? Turns out I can do magic after all. Who would have thought?"

Hunk let out a gusty sigh, then sat down beside her on the the cliff, armor clanking. He reached out and patted her shoulder, then ran his hand over Holly's back, too. "Good job, ladies," he murmured. "Thank you for saving my friend."

Pidge turned her head to smile at him. "He's my friend, too. And so are you."

Hunk smiled back, his heart finally settling in his chest. "I know. And I'm glad."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** I return! The three big projects I have been working on are all finished now, so I'm going back to doing what I want. I will probably post a couple more chapters of this story in the near future, and I'll also be working on another installment of the Boom Crash series. On 7/23, I'll post a big bang with deaged!Lance and protective!Coran called Little Boy Blue, and on 7/30 I'll post my other big bang, Bury the Sun, which features Sam and Lance in Galra imprisonment. And more Sewing Patches (a fic co-written with another author, so I'm not posting it here on ff.n) every Saturday. Hope you enjoy!

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Several days later found the three adventurers perched on the edge of a cliff, staring over the plains west of the Craglin Mountains. It was time to make a decision.

"Okay, guys," Hunk said, determined to get this done. "We have to decide where we're going. If we keep heading north into the Craglins, we're going to be basically in the wilderness. There are almost no villages up this way, and sooner rather than later we're going to start running into monsters that are beyond our skill level. We could maybe try our luck anyway, go for some bounty monsters that we could gather tokens from to take back to civilization to turn in for gold, but we're not really equipped for a full-blown expedition right now."

"Plus, our party is a little small," Lance admitted grudgingly. He looked left and right at Pidge and Hunk and hastened to add, "Not that our party isn't totally awesome as is! We've got the best melee and defense ever from Hunk, ranged attack and support from yours truly, and incredible amounts of concentrated damage and sneakiness from our dear rogue, who can now also do some druid magic for some reason. We're pretty well-balanced, really. But if we're going to go monster-hunting as a serious occupation, we need more power. A fighter would be good. A ranger, even." Lance opened his mouth to go on, then stopped abruptly.

Hunk nodded. He knew that Lance was about to say something about how a wizard or sorcerer with evocation spells to bring broad-range attacks would also be great, but neither of them wanted to make Pidge feel bad about not being a wizard again. Her new Entangle spell was totally cool and surprisingly useful, but it wasn't exactly a Lightning Bolt, or even a Magic Missile.

"If we're seriously thinking about going monster-hunting, I want to stop in a city and stock up on magic items first," Pidge said. "We've got some gold saved up. I could get a Necklace of Fireballs for emergencies, and we should buy some scrolls and healing potions for when both of you are dry on healing magic."

"Okay, so a city it is," Hunk said. He looked over his shoulder at the mountains rising behind them. "We could go east, cross through the Balmer Gap over the Craglins. We'll end up in one of those northern cities Lance has visited before in Jaretan. That's gonna be a long trip, but we'll be able to gain experience and fight some monsters on the way."

Lance made a face. "That's gonna be a super-long trip, though. And I told you I didn't really like those northern cities, right?"

Hunk laughed and punched his shoulder hard enough to make Lance sway. "I wouldn't expect you to, dude. You're a lad from the southern seas, through and through. Ice will never seem nice to you."

Lance grumbled, bobbing his head in an ambiguous nod. "...It was pretty, though," he said.

Pidge snorted. "I'm not surprised you think ice is pretty, but did that opinion form before or after you learned to do Ray of Frost?"

Lance gave her a grin. "Nah, I really did like the ice and snow the first time we traveled the northern way. It's always been pretty to me. Being able to make it myself is a definite plus, though." In proof, he shot a Ray of Frost out into the air in front of them, just for the fun of it.

The shot led Hunk's eyes westward, toward the place they had been avoiding looking at. "Or, for a shorter trip to a city..."

The three of them sighed almost in unison. If they traveled much farther north and west, they were going to hit the Dragon Waste, an area they _definitely_ weren't ready for. But almost directly west from them, faintly visible from this height on a sunny, cloudless day like this one, they could see the distant shape of Garrison City.

"It's closer," Pidge said. "And I know my way around. We could find what we need pretty quickly."

"Yeah, but you're wanted there," Lance argued. "I know your Glasses of Disguise are awesome, but they only deflect passing interest. If someone is really determined to look for you, they'll see through it."

"You'll be able to attract attention away from me," Pidge said. "And it's been over a year since I left. I'm sure the constables have much bigger matters on their plate."

Like the Dragon Waste, of course, its presence to the north always looming over Garrison City like a gathering storm. Since the failed Wolfhound Expedition two years ago, nothing had been resolved or discovered concerning the changes going on out there in the Waste. It would certainly be smarter of the Garrison officials to worry about that, rather than one runaway girl from a wizard family.

"We can hope," Lance said dubiously. "I dunno, Pidge. I don't want to risk it. We can't afford to lose you for any reason."

Pidge frowned. Hunk cast a curious glance over at her. "I'm surprised you're the one fighting for this, little buddy. I would have expected you to be against it and Lance to be all for visiting somewhere new, and instead it's the other way around."

Pidge was quiet for a long moment. She didn't look at either of them, just stared forward at the city. "I miss my mom."

Her voice was soft, almost inaudible. Hunk and Lance fell silent, too, staring with her. The lions had been flying around, chasing each other for fun, but Holly abruptly wheeled toward the cliff and flew into Pidge's arms, butting against her chest. Pidge folded her arms around her and held her close, and Holly rubbed her head under Pidge's chin.

"Okay." Lance said. "Let's talk about how we're going to get to Garrison City, then."

He had finally gotten to see his family not long ago, though not be with them. Allura surprised them on the evening call that night by saying a brief greeting, then stepping back so a whole crowd of smiling faces could take her place. Coran had been going to the docks regularly ever since they left Sura City, and when Lance's family arrived, he dragged as many as would come to The Crystal Lion. Lance had cried. A lot. Pidge and Hunk had, too. Of course when Pidge put it like that, Lance was completely on board with going to Garrison City.

Hunk smiled softly. "Besides, isn't that where we're all feeling drawn to go?"

After a moment, the other two nodded. Pidge looked at Lance with a brief smile. "If we want to expand our party, I think that's where we'll do it."

The shared dreams still weren't clear, yet. It wasn't like they had seen the dreamer and his traveling companion arrive at Garrison City, nothing so obvious. But when Hunk considered going there, his gut gave him a good feeling, even as his head was full of misgivings. Everything they knew told them that Garrison City was absolutely the most dangerous place for them to go right now. And still they knew that that was where they needed to be.

"All right." Lance blew out a sigh, then hopped to his feet, dusted off his clothes, and struck a pose. He pointed forward off the cliff with a brilliant smile, the feather on his hat waving in the breeze. "Westward ho! We march onward into danger, my valiant companions. Let us see where the day takes us!"

He paused and looked downward at the steep slope below. "Well, maybe we won't go _directly_ westward."

Hunk laughed and stood to walk to where he'd tethered Big Bart within a big patch of grass and wildflowers. "Onward we go, yeah. I'm sure we'll find a way down and westward somewhere up ahead. It can't all be cliffs. We're not even in the proper mountains yet, just the foothills."

Hunk led the way, picking his way over the rocky terrain. He wasn't a ranger, but he had the most survival skills among the three of them, so he was the most likely to find a safe path. The hills were not heavily wooded in this area, but there was plenty of vegetation, grass and bushes and small trees here and there.

Everytime he thought he might have found a likely path westward, though, on second look it turned out to be too steep and narrow. The day wore on, and Hunk still had not found a viable way off the foothills. If anything, they might have been traveling further up instead of down. He was started to get irritated, and Pidge and Lance didn't say anything, but he could feel their restless energy as they walked behind him.

"I wonder what the name of our missing teammate is," Lance said idly, just to break the tension. It was late afternoon now, drawing on toward evening, and Hunk still hadn't found a path. "We know he's with a guy named Keith, but we've never heard his name mentioned. Even that witch who keeps cackling and crowing in the dreams hasn't mentioned his name."

"She called him something else, though," Pidge said, game for yet another discussion of what the visions meant. They'd been over and over all of the clues they had, hashing and rehashing them almost every day. Sometimes Hunk got tired of talking about it, but Pidge never did, and Lance usually went along with her.

Hunk was annoyed enough at himself and the terrain, though, to leap at any chance for a distraction. "She called him Champion."

"Yeah, but Champion of what?" Lance liked to bring up the hypothetical questions that none of them could answer. "Do the Galra have tournaments? Or some kind of game? Did he win a duel, or a bunch of them? It always seems like he's the cackling lady's captive. What kind of captive plays in games?"

"Whatever it was, he probably didn't do it willingly," Pidge said, her voice grim. She was always willing to go for the darkest interpretation. "Making a captive play in a game... I bet it was some kind of bloodsport."

Lance shuddered. "That's horrible. Whatever it was, I'm glad our guy seems to be free now."

"It still bothers him a lot, though," Hunk murmured. "Almost every night."

They were quiet. The closer they drew to their missing teammate, it seemed, the more frequently the dreams came. Maybe he was having them every single night, and the three of them just weren't getting them all yet. Maybe when the whole team was together, they would get them all the time.

Or maybe they would be able to help and make them better. Yeah, that was what Hunk was going for. If Pidge wanted to leap to the dark conclusions, he would hope for the bright ones.

Hunk was looking so hard for a path to get them down out of the Craglins that he didn't notice the dark figure lurking in the grove of trees on the hillside above until it was too late. A blur of black and gray crossed his vision, and a hooded figure dropped in front of them, then straightened up, tall and broad and blocking the path. Lance squeaked, and Pidge immediately hid behind him, whisking herself out of the stranger's view. Hunk startled back, his heart pounding like a jackrabbit, then gathered himself and firmed his stance, jaw tightening. His hand dropped to his broadsword, though he didn't draw it yet, since the figure was not holding a weapon.

"Who are you?" Hunk demanded, facing the stranger full-on. His friend were behind him, depending on his protection. He would not waver.

The stranger was wearing a full face mask, dark with slitted eyeholes Hunk couldn't see through, though he thought he caught a glimpse of purple. The dreams of their missing teammate still high in his mind, he shuddered a bit at the sight. The color wasn't exactly like the spell runes in the vision, but it was close enough to make Hunk even more suspicious and uncomfortable.

The stranger crossed his arms over his chest and eyed Hunk up and down. "I have been following your party for hours now, listening to your talk, and you didn't notice. You are clearly not strong enough to travel this far into the wilderness, if you cannot even spy a ranger in the trees. Go back whence you came."

Hunk bristled, and Lance let out an indignant, "Hey!" Never mind that they were _trying_ to get away from this place. It never felt nice to be told you were incompetent by someone who didn't even know you.

Hunk looked back and gave Lance a nod of solidarity, then looked forward to the guy. "You're a ranger, huh? This must be your favored terrain. We've only been here for a few days and we're not familiar with the place. It's not fair to compare us."

The ranger tilted his head. "Who said anything about 'fair?' This place is dangerous for you. Leave."

Lance snorted in disgust and moved forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hunk, Pidge following close at his back with her hands around his waist as she peeked around his arm. "Hey, we're trying to, okay? Hunk's been looking for a path westward since we decided to head to Garrison City earlier today. It's not our fault that we're newcomers and don't know our way around. If you want so badly for us to leave, maybe you could be, you know, helpful? Guide us?"

The ranger turned his head to look at him, which was a little creepy without being able to see his eyes. "It is not my mission to guide babes through the wilds. You were unwise to come here so ill-prepared."

Lance threw his arms into the air. "Fine! Don't guide us! You could just point us in the right direction, if that's not too much to ask."

The ranger considered this for a long moment, standing completely still, then abruptly turned and strode away. "Come, then. I will show you the way."

Hunk and Lance exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised, and Pidge stuck her head further out from behind Lance's back to watch him go. After a moment of silent communication, the three of them scrambled to catch up. Lance and Pidge were faster since Hunk had to look for a safe path to lead Big Bart.

"Hey, hey, wait up," Lance called, and the ranger slowed his steps only slightly. Lance caught up with him and followed a few paces behind, Pidge on his heels. "What's your name, buddy? Can we even get that, if we're gonna have to trust you now?"

"I am Ulaz," the ranger said. "Trust me or not as you wish. It is not my mission..."

"Yeah, yeah, you said that," Lance interrupted. "I'm Lance, and the rogue is Pidge, and the paladin coming up behind is Hunk. How long were you spying on us, anyway?"

"Long enough," Ulaz said. "I heard you speak of missing party members. You mentioned the name Keith."

"Yeah? What's it to you?"

"I am tracking a missing member of my tribe named Keith. He passed through this area some time ago. Did you meet him?"

Lance and Hunk gave each other another a glance. It was Pidge who answered. "Uh, I seriously doubt it. We haven't seen anyone out here. Must be a different Keith."

Lance gave Pidge an impressed glance. He must not have expected her to be so good at obfuscation. "Your tribe?" Lance echoed, deliberately casual. "What tribe is that? Where do you come from?"

"That information is not necessary for me to show you where you need to go."

"Well, I guess not, but it might be useful to help us trust you, my man. We have no idea who you are. You could be leading us into a trap."

Ulaz halted and whirled on Lance abruptly, looming over him. Lance gulped and leaned back, but stood his ground. Though they could not see Ulaz's face, Hunk got the impression that he was snarling. _"You_ are the one who asked me for help. And I am _not_ your 'man.'"

Lance bared his teeth, though Hunk had the feeling that Ulaz didn't find it very intimidating. It didn't help that Lance was about a foot shorter than him. "I only asked for help because you told us to get off your mountain and we couldn't find the way on our own. It doesn't mean that I trust you. You've done _nothing_ to earn my trust, just ordered us around and acted like you own the place. But fair enough, I won't call you 'my man,' again. What are you, an elf?"

Ulaz straightened and turned away, striding down a path none of them could see. "Stop asking personal questions."

"Wow, prickly." Lance recovered quickly and scurried to catch up, following right behind Ulaz. Pidge and Hunk trailed after. The fairy lions floated above them in the sky, invisible to Ulaz but keeping an eye on their humans.

"So, not a personal question, then," Lance tried again. "Why is this Keith so important? Who is he to you? You seem really uptight about him."

Ulaz's shoulders slumped, and he turned his head to give Lance a look. "That's still a personal question."

"Whatever, dude. I'm just trying to understand my new traveling companion. What, is Keith like a toddler who wandered off or something? Maybe we can help you look for him. We're adventurers, you know. Out here doing good and fighting monsters and so on."

Ulaz was quiet for a long moment. Hunk watched him, and he thought he saw worry in the way held himself, the sharpness of his movements. Whoever this Keith was, he really was important to Ulaz. Finally, he sighed. "Keith is a not a child, no, but he is little more than one, at least as we would reckon it. A dangerous mission arose among my tribe, and no one was willing to attempt it. Except Keith, of course. He is young and brash and too brave for his own good. We warned him not to go... _I_ warned him not to go... But they went anyway."

"They?" Lance piped.

Ulaz shook his head. "He. He went anyway."

Hunk frowned. He thought maybe Ulaz had been right the first time. Maybe the people they were looking for and the people Ulaz were looking for were the same. The more Hunk thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

He felt Pidge tug his sleeve and looked over to see her giving him a significant look, eyebrows raised and mouth flat. Looking ahead at Lance, the way he was worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, Hunk figured he was probably having the same thoughts. They knew the dreamer they were connected to had been in this area, and that he was with someone named Keith. How big of a coincidence would it have to be for that _not_ to be Ulaz's Keith, too?

They said nothing. As genuine as Ulaz seemed in his worry for Keith, they still didn't know who he was and if they could trust him. He could be a Galra, for all they knew, with the way he kept every bit of skin covered in dark clothing, even on a sunny day like this one.

"Well," Lance said eventually, heartfelt and sincere as only he could be. "I'm sorry to hear that, dude. We will definitely keep an eye out for your Keith, and we'll send him home if we find him. Is he a ranger, too?"

Ulaz nodded, relief in the way he bent his head. "He bears two swords and wears an outfit of red and white."

"Awesome. We'll watch for him."

Ulaz's voice was low. "I thank you."

After that, the trip passed more smoothly, though in silence. Before the sun was much lower in the sky, Ulaz brought them to a gentle slope falling westward. A worn, zig-zag path showed where others had preceded them, using this hill to descend from the Craglins. "Follow that path, then head westward through the plain. You'll reach Garrison City in two or three days, depending on your speed."

"Thanks, Ulaz." Lance held out his hand, keeping his position as unofficial spokesman for the party. Ulaz looked down at him for a moment, then accepted the hand clasp.

"Fare you well, adventurers," he said, then he disappeared up into the foothills again as if he'd never been there.

They looked at each other. "Well, that was a trip," Pidge said.

Hunk nodded. He didn't want to discuss it further until they were out of the Craglins for good and they were sure that no one else from Ulaz's tribe was listening in on them. "Sure was. Let's get out of these mountains."

"Westward ho!" Lance said cheerfully, and they followed the path.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry if Lance's reunion with his family felt rushed over! I'm planning to write a side story for his birthday that will explore that in more depth, so look for that on 7/28. This story is just mostly focused on getting the team together, so I didn't want to do a long sidebar that had nothing to do with the overall plot.


	7. Chapter 7

They reached Garrison City in the late afternoon two days after they left the Craglins. Pidge had already activated her Glasses of Disguise before they reached the city proper, and now the three adventurers stood in a line at the gate with a number of other visitors, waiting to be let in by the guards. Garrison City was walled, of course, in case of invasion from the Dragon Waste, and it had four gates. After observing for a time, they had decided that this southern gate seemed to be the busiest, crowded with merchants, farmers, and soldiers coming and going.

Hunk was mounted on Big Bart, which gave him a good vantage over most of the people waiting to get in. He could see the guards at the gate. They didn't look bored, exactly, but they didn't seem like they were on high alert, either. This was a routine duty, but they still knew that they lived in a dangerous part of the world, and anything could happen at any time. Hunk wondered how often bad guys tried to sneak into the city and got caught by the guards. He wondered how many got in undetected.

He wondered if they were bad guys, too.

He shook his head at the thought. No, that was ridiculous. Pidge had just been looking for answers when she was arrested and sentenced to house arrest, nothing truly evil. The Garrison City government was covering something up, so they were the bad guys in that situation, not Pidge. Still, it itched at Hunk, knowing that he was involved in something that would get him in trouble with the law. Even when the law was imperfect, or flat-out bad, he felt conflicted and uncomfortable about not following it.

"Hunk." Lance reached up to tap his knee, clanking against his armor. "Would you stop fidgeting? You're driving me loony lutes."

Hunk forced his leg to be still and sent Lance a wry smile. "Sorry about that."

"No worries." Lance patted his shin with his palm. "I get it. Just keep it together a little while longer, okay? I'll do all the talking."

Hunk nodded and drew a deep breath, then looked ahead again. On the opposite side of Big Bart to Lance, Pidge was lurking in the horse's shadow, quiet and nearly invisible, even to Hunk, who knew she was there. No one else around them gave her so much as a glance, eyes passing over where she was standing without the slightest change in expression. She wasn't actually invisible, not like the fairy lions, but this disguise was the next best thing. It made her boring, uninteresting, and utterly forgettable.

Ahead of them, a farmer with a cart full of potatoes was waved through the gate. Hunk watched it go longingly, wishing that he was making mashed potatoes right now. Or scalloped potatoes, or fried potatoes, or a hash, maybe. Basically anything with potatoes would be good. Anything besides waiting to try to sneak through a checkpoint without being caught would be good.

Lance stepped up to the guards, body language open and unconcerned. Hunk nudged Big Bart to follow with a quick squeeze of his knees, and Pidge stayed in their shadow. Lance gave the guards a wide, lazy smile. "Hey, there, fellas. How's it going?"

The head guard gave Lance a searching look, unsmiling but not hostile. He wasn't charmed by Lance, but he wasn't suspicious either. "State your name and origin, and those of your party members." The guard next to him held a parchment and quill, jotting down the answers to the head guard's questions.

"I'm Lance, most recently of Sura City." He patted Big Bart's neck. "My friend the paladin is Hunk, from southern Amefusa. Our companion is Pidge Gunderson, also of Sura City."

"Companion?" The head guard raised his eyebrows. Lance pointed to the other side of Big Bart, and the guard swept his eyes over that area, then looked back to Lance. "Ah, I see." His expression was unchanged.

Hunk breathed out. He understood that Lance couldn't ignore Pidge's presence—if one of the guards had realized someone was there and Lance hadn't give a name, they would have singled her out for solo questioning and would have a reason to pay more attention to her, and then they might have seen through the disguise. Still, it felt like a risk even to acknowledge that another person was there.

"What's your business in Garrison City?" the guard asked Lance.

"Stocking up. We're adventurers out wandering the countryside. We're low on supplies." Lance patted his jingling coin pouch. "Gonna contribute to the economy, you know?"

The guard quirked a half-smile. He probably saw adventurers passing in and out of Garrison City every day. "How long will you be staying?"

"Not long. Less than a week."

"Very well." He looked at the other guard, who made a flourish with his quill and nodded, then looked back to Lance. "You may pass. Behave yourselves. No fistfights, no damage-dealing magic except in self-defense."

Lance gave him the finger guns and a broad wink. "You got it, pal."

Without further ado, they passed through the gate.

When they'd gotten half a block away, Lance started and made a hissing noise between his teeth, then spun around to walk backward so he look back to the guards. "Ah, Dragon's claws! I should have asked about a ranger in red and white! He might have passed through that gate."

Hunk chuckled and shook his head. They were all agreed that Ulaz's Keith and the Keith they were looking for had to be the same one, and Lance had decided that when they reached Garrison City he would ask around for any news. He wasn't surprised that it had slipped Lance's mind in the heat of the moment, though. He'd forgotten too. "No big deal. There are plenty of other people you can ask."

"That's true." Lance turned back to face forward, looking around with bright-eyed interest. They were on a main thoroughfare through the city now, and it was crowded fore and aft and side to side with people.

This was Hunk's first time in a big city, though he'd heard plenty of stories from Lance. Even Lance seemed a bit overwhelmed by the enormous bustle and noise, the endless sea of bodies of all types. This was a commercial district, and shops geared toward travelers and adventurers lined the streets. Taverns, inns, bakeries, smithies, butchers, cookshops, grocers, tailors, cobblers, even a magic shop or two. Everything one could possibly need for a journey in the wilds was being sold here, cheek to jowl with everything else.

Street vendors hawked small handcrafts, fruits and vegetables, and all sorts of hot foods. The air was filled with delectable smells. Hunk's mouth flooded with saliva. Before he realized it, his knee nudged Big Bart toward a food vendor holding up a skewer of charred meat. It looked like beef, or maybe chicken. It smelled _amazing._

"Whoa, Hunk, whoa!" Lance laughed and reached up to grab Big Bart's halter and shove him back on a straight path. "We'll eat later, big guy. I promise. Now we gotta figure out where to head first."

Hunk blinked out of his daze and gave himself a quick shake, then looked down to Pidge. She was walking smoothly and confidently at his side, a small, nostalgic smile on her face as she looked around, completely at ease. "What should we do, Pidge? Shopping first, and we can let Lance talk people up looking for our missing ranger, or do you want to go straight home?"

Pidge blinked rapidly, then looked up at him. Suddenly, she looked uncertain. "Uh..." She fidgeted with the strap of her pack over her shoulder, and Hunk's heart melted in sympathy. As much as Pidge wanted to see her mom, she was nervous about her reception. Hunk was sure her mom would be delighted to see her, if perhaps a little angry that she had left in the first place, but if Pidge needed some time to work up to it, Hunk understood.

"Why don't we shop first?" he asked, making the decision for her. "Then we can go to your house to rest up this evening and plan what else we need to do, anything we might have missed. You said not to bother with the shops near the gate, right?"

Pidge nodded, relieved, and squinted down the street. "Yeah. That sounds good. Let's go with that. Right, we don't want to buy anything from any shops within at least six blocks of any of the gates. The merchants jack up their prices to sell their wares for the best profit possible, and most visitors don't know any better because all of the shops near the gate are competitive with each other. But if you're a native of Garrison City, of course, you know where to find the _real_ deals."

Hunk chuckled and swept a hand forward. "Lead the way then, Sir Native-of-Garrison-City."

Pidge grinned and stepped forward, leading their party confidently through the streets. Hunk followed close enough behind that the crowd parted instinctively for them, even though Pidge still had her notice-me-not spell in effect. Lance trotted cheerfully along beside them, completely on board with the plan.

With Pidge guiding them to the best shops, and Lance doing the negotiating, their shopping expedition was hugely successful. Certainly much better than the last time Hunk had had to buy supplies for himself. None of the shopkeepers recognized Pidge, of course, but Lance introduced himself as a cousin of a Garrison City native who had referred him to this store, and that was enough to get him in the door. From there, he charmed and finagled and bluffed his way to the best possible price, nine times out of ten. The times it didn't work was usually in some specialty shop where Hunk didn't mind paying the full price, anyway.

They did, indeed, find a Necklace of Fireballs for Pidge, as well as a hefty supply of well-preserved comestibles for themselves and oats for Big Bart. Hunk restocked his vials of spices, missing only a couple of the more rare ones he'd been given as gifts from Lance's family when they traveled back from far-off and exotic shores. Lance even found a new feather to replace the one on his hat that had broken when he fell down the cliff. He replaced it himself right there in the shop, with a few strong, sharp stitches using the sewing kit he already carried in his bag.

Everywhere they went, Lance also asked about two men traveling together, one a ranger wearing red and white. No one was particularly surprised when they didn't learn anything. The people they were seeking were probably visitors to Garrison City, so they wouldn't know not to shop near the gates.

Then, at the last shop they visited, a surprise hit. They had stopped to get Hunk's broadsword sharpened. He maintained it himself on the road, of course, but it was always good to get professional service when you could. Lance stood by while the weaponsmith did his work, making idle chit-chat.

"Say, have you had any rangers with two swords come in lately? Maybe one who likes to wear red and white? We're keeping an eye out for a friend."

The burly half-orc smith didn't look up, drawing Hunk's sword over the whetstone with long, smooth strokes. But he nodded. "Matter of fact, I did. Not two, three days ago."

The adventurers exchanged excited glances, and Lance leaned in closer. "Did he happen to mention where he was going next? Like I said, he's a friend. We were hoping to bump into him in Garrison City, but the place is so huge, it's easy to miss each other."

The smith shrugged. "He didn't say anything directly to me, but he and his companion were talking about going to the authorities. Sounded like they had some sort of warning to deliver."

Hunk gasped and blinked, straightening up as if he'd been struck. "They were bringing a _warning?"_

The smith glanced up at him, utterly blase. "This is Garrison City, son. Adventurers come in here with warnings from the Waste all the time. You learn not to get too worried about it unless Central Command _says_ you should be worried."

Hunk nodded sheepishly and stood back. "That makes sense."

Of course. This was a fortress city, constantly under threat from the wild. If the citizens got worked up over every rumor, every passing messenger who said that dire things were afoot, they would never be able to rest.

"Our ranger friend was traveling with someone else, you said?" Lance took up the conversation again. "What did he look like, so we can better look for them?"

"Didn't catch his class, could have been a fighter, maybe. He was a big fella, muscular, wearing mostly black. His hair was long." The smith reached up and tugged on a shock of hair over his forehead. "Had a streak of white right here." He looked up at Lance with a small frown. "Boy seemed to be in pain, like he had a wound not quite healed. I told them where to find a temple of the Canary with reasonable prices, but the big boy already knew. I think he was a native of Garrison City, though I don't remember meeting him before. Maybe I just didn't recognize him, if he's been through something rough out in the wild. He was quiet, let his ranger friend do the talking."

"Did you catch his name?"

"Shiro, I think. Might have been a nickname. Boy in red and white spoke it fondly."

This was much more and better information than they could have possibly hoped for. They had a description. They had a _name._ Lance thanked the smith profusely, and Hunk gave him a tip with the payment for the sharpening. Even Pidge spoke up, risking her disguise, to thank him for the news about their friend. He nodded affably and waved them on their way.

Spiffed up, supplied, and fed by one of Pidge's favorite meat pie vendors at the corner of a hidden alley, they eventually ran out of excuses. Lance and Hunk stood in the street, fidgeting with their filled bags and giving Pidge little glances now and then. She pretended to be very busy adjusting the straps of her new handy haversack. Finally, though, she drew a breath and looked up into their faces, watching with gentle concern.

"All right. I guess it's time to go home."

"Lead the way," Lance said softly. "We'll be right behind you."

They started off, slowly at first. Pidge led them away from the corners and back alleys tucked away on the edges of the city, through another commercial district near a gate, then into a residential area. It was nice, but not high-class. Pidge's family clearly did well for themselves, but they weren't government officials or anything like that. No political clout, from listening to Pidge's bitter complaints about the way the city had treated her mother.

At last, Pidge's footsteps slowed in front of another modest townhouse in a long row of them. The front garden was neatly maintained, flowers and fruit trees in summer bloom. A low-slung stone wall surrounded the property, a white-painted gate set at the entrance to a cobblestone path. Pidge put her hand on the latch, then hesitated, looking left and right to where Hunk and Lance stood at her shoulders.

Lance gave her a sunny smile, Hunk a solemn nod. They were with her, no matter what would come. Big Bart nickered as Hunk tied him temporarily to a post on the stone wall, and Holly, Blue, and Sunshine Boy all landed on their chosen adventurer's shoulder and perched there. Pidge opened the latch, and the gate swung open silently on oiled hinges.

A small light flashed, and something that sounded like a handbell began to chime. Pidge's mother had set an alarm spell on the gate. They hadn't thought to check for such a thing, but in hindsight, it certainly made sense for a woman who had lost her entire family in the course of a single year to be wary of visitors.

Pidge bit her lip, then set her shoulders and stepped through the gate, Hunk and Lance right behind her. She made her way partway down the cobblestone path, then stood there in the middle of the garden, waiting. Rapid footsteps and swear words in the house that told them Pidge's mother was coming to investigate the alarm. A dog was barking, too.

Hunk nudged Pidge's shoulder. "You never told us. What's your mother's name? I wanna be polite."

"Colleen Holt," Pidge said absently, paying almost no attention to him. Her eyes were fixed on the door. She had already deactivated her disguise spell—Hunk didn't have to look hard anymore to see who she was.

The door burst open and a slim woman with ashy blond hair emerged, shawl flying back from her shoulders and wand poised in her fingers. Her eyes were wide and wild, teeth bared in a grimace. Whoever she thought had tripped the alarm spell, she expected them to be hostile. At her heel was a waist-height tan dog with short fur and a red collar, barking like mad.

At the sight of the three youngsters waiting in her garden, Colleen Holt drew up short. Her face went through a rapid series of expressions, almost too quick to follow. Relief, anger, fear, wonder, hope, awe. Finally, her face screwed up in a grimace of utter grief, and her hands fell to her sides, wand lax in her grip. _"Katie."_ A sob, broken and stretched out with distress.

"Hi, Mom," Pidge said, quiet, sheepish. "I'm home. I'm sor—"

She didn't get a chance to finish. Mrs. Holt had already flung herself down the path and thrown her arms around her, muffling her words against her dress. Tears fell down her face as she bent over her daughter, wispy hair escaping from a messy bun on the back of her head. She kind of did look like a crazy woman, but Hunk didn't blame her at all. Both women were crying now, loud and unashamed.

A lump in his throat, Hunk backed off a couple of steps to give them room. He felt Lance beside him, pressing up against his arm. Hunk's breath caught, remembering how desperately Lance had longed to be able to hug his own mother during their too-brief reunion by Altean magic. He put his arm around Lance's shoulders and pulled him close, and Lance let out a shuddery sigh and leaned on him so heavily that Hunk took some of his weight.

Pidge was talking now, between sobs, trying to explain herself in broken sentences mixed with apologies. "I should have told you, I'm sorry. Before I got a mile away I already regretted just leaving a stupid _note,_ but it was too late to go back... I've done so much, met so many people, I have so much to tell you, I'm so sorry, please forgive me..."

Mrs. Holt, for her part, didn't seem to be listening at all. "You're here, you're here, nothing else matters, I'm just glad you're alive and you're here..."

The dog pranced around them, barking happily. Holly had had to fly off Pidge's shoulder when her mother grabbed her and now fluttered above, watching the dog curiously. Sunny and Blue both purred.

Finally, Pidge pulled back a bit from the tight embrace, though she kept a hold on her mother's forearms and smiled into her face. "I'm so glad to see you, and I have so much to tell you, but first... Could we come in?" She tipped her head back at Hunk and Lance. "This is my adventuring party." She shook her head. "No, my friends. My very good friends, Lance and Hunk. I wouldn't be here without them."

Mrs. Holt raised her head and blinked at them. She swiped her hand over her face, though she didn't make much of a dent on the mess. "You...you boys..." Her voice was wavering, but her eyes were fierce. "You took care of my daughter?"

Lance hesitated, no doubt thinking of all the times that Pidge had saved _him,_ not the other way around, but Hunk nodded firmly. "We took care of each other."

Mrs. Holt nodded, her face naked with relief. "Thank you." She swept her hand toward the door. "Of course, of course. Please. Come in. You are welcome here. Most, _most_ welcome. Thank you for taking care of my Katie while she was away."

Hunk smiled and squeezed Lance's shoulders, and they followed her inside.


	8. Chapter 8

Pidge's mom wanted to hear everything. First, though, she made them bring in all of their belongings and stable Big Bart in the backyard. They weren't hungry yet, still full of street food, but she set about preparing a big pot of a tea and mixing a batch of scones while they refreshed themselves. She put Lance and Hunk in her missing son's room, and Pidge returned to her own. It was a relief to get out of the full plate, as always, but Hunk had a little trouble finding somewhere to put it in the absent wizard's room.

Matt Holt's room was full of wizarding books and arcane bric-a-brac, clearly untouched for the two years he'd been away. Hunk tried not to touch anything at first, but eventually his curiosity got the best of him. He picked up books and read the titles and perused the tables of content, while Lance peered curiously through the gigantic telescope set up at the window. Hunk had assumed he wouldn't see anything but clear sky this time of day, but Lance swore he saw stars, little specks of light beyond the blue.

Hunk's fingers itched to touch...well, basically everything in this fascinating room. But he also didn't want to be rude and mess anything up. The three of them were hoping to bring Matt home eventually, after all. It would kind of suck to pull him out of some pit or rescue him from a dragon or something and then have to explain that they broke his neat model of the planar system.

"Guys!" Pidge's voice called from downstairs. "Scones are in the oven!"

The house smelled heavenly. Hunk's nose lifted in the air, sniffing appreciatively. Lance whooped and fled the room, feet pounding down the staircase, and Hunk chuckled and followed. After months in the wilderness, camping under trees and in cave openings, it felt a little strange to follow Lance without seeing the feather bobbing on his hat or his cloak flapping behind him. Lance had left both hat and cloak at the door of the house, like a civilized person, and he looked five years younger without his bardic get-up.

The kitchen was warm and cozy, the wood-fired oven in the corner perfuming the air with the smell of baking treats. Hunk sat down at the table and hummed happily as Mrs. Holt sat across from him. A big smile spread over his face. "I smell cranberry and orange. And...is that...nutmeg? Mace?"

Mrs. Holt smiled. "Mace, yes. You know your spices."

Hunk shrugged modestly. Pidge and Lance slid in beside him, and Mrs. Holt stood up from her chair to pour tea for all of them. That smelled wonderful, too, redolent of fresh mint and chamomile from the garden outside. They sat around the table, drinking tea and talking, for a good long while. The lions curled up under the table at their feet, snuggling and purring.

After random chit-chat to relax them all, Mrs. Holt ("Call me Colleen, boys, you're family now.") quietly asked for their story. They all started talking at once, though Pidge and Hunk tried to settle down when Lance cleared his throat. But it was a tangled narrative despite Lance's professional attempts to keep it orderly and coherent. Pidge and Hunk kept interrupting him with details he had planned to share later, or personal observations they felt were immediately important. Lance started the tale in Sura City, where he'd met Pidge (Katie, maybe Hunk should call her Katie in this house), and though Hunk hadn't been with them for that part, he'd heard the story enough times that he kept remembering things to add, too.

Lance finally got exasperated and stood up from the table, then slapped his palms down on the hard surface. "Enough!" He glared at Hunk and Pidge in turn, and they went guiltily silent. "Am I your bard or not? Will you please let me _do my job?"_

Hunk nodded meekly, but Pidge wrinkled her nose. "Lance, this is my mom," she whined.

Lance nodded imperiously. "Yes, she is. And I'm sure she'll have plenty of personal questions for you later, and you'll be happy to answer. But first let me tell the basic story, okay? We can fill in details when I'm done."

Pidge squinted at him for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. Lance turned to Mrs. Holt and gave her a bow and an airy flourish of his hand. "My lady, may I continue?"

Mrs. Holt...Colleen...was sitting back in her chair, holding her teacup and saucer in front her chest and grinning. She looked completely relaxed for the first time since Hunk had met her, eyes sparkling and shoulders loose. All of their childish chatter had succeeded in convincing her that her daughter was truly at home, safe at last. She didn't look crazy at all, now.

At Lance's formal request, she sat up straight and set her tea on the table, then folded her hands in her lap and bowed her head. "You may continue, Master Bard. Please, tell on."

Lance tilted his head in grave acceptance, then sat down in his chair and continued the tale. Hunk had to admit, he told it well, when he wasn't getting constantly interrupted by annoying party members.

They had agreed before they got here that they would tell Pidge's mother everything, at least everything they knew. She was a wizard living near the Dragon Waste who had already lost her son and her husband to something dangerous, so she didn't need to be protected from any details. She had been trying to warn her people of danger coming, too. All the better for them to give a name to the threat for her.

Because of that, almost as soon as he started, Lance had to pause. He dove under the table and dug Blue out from the lion pile with a muttered apology, then stood again, cradling her in his arms like a baby. Blue wiggled around, tummy up and paws in the air, eyes closed as she purred against Lance's chest.

Colleen stared at him, because, of course, all she saw was a young man holding his arms in a strange, awkward position in front of his chest, after interrupting himself and ducking under a table for no apparent reason. Yep, Lance looked like the crazy person this time. He gave Colleen an easy smile, then bent his face down and nuzzled Blue's ears with his nose. "Hey, beautiful. Can you show yourself for the nice lady? Let Holly and Sunny know, too, please. There's no need to hide here in this house."

Blue let out a little _prrtt_ noise and pushed her head up against Lance's face, then turned her head and looked directly at Colleen, eyes half-lidded and little body still rumbling with her purr. Hunk saw a shimmer in the air, almost like a wave of heat or steam, and he knew that Blue was no longer invisible. She looked no different to Hunk, of course, but Colleen gasped.

He turned back to watch her face. This was first time he'd seen anyone react to one of the fairy lions, since Sunny had always kept his invisibility whenever Hunk was in a village or otherwise around other people. Colleen kept her calm rather better than Hunk might have expected, but her eyes did flicker with a moment of shock before she regained her composure.

"Well. I knew about fairy dragons, of course. But I've never seen a fairy lion."

"Gorgeous, isn't she?" Lance said proudly. "She's the only one like her in the world."

As he spoke, the other lions climbed up to perch on Pidge and Hunk, joining Blue in regarding their new ally. Colleen looked back and forth between all of the lions. Then she leaned heavily back in her chair, eyes futtering closed as she drew a deep breath. It was probably a good thing that she'd already been sitting down when they revealed this to her.

Pidge looked around the room. "Speaking of fairy dragons... Where's Bae Bae?"

Colleen opened her eyes, relieved to have something else to talk about. "He's out watching for me." She looked to Lance and Hunk. "Bae Bae is my familiar. He's a fairy dragon, a bit mischievous but loyal to me. With my focus on divination, I can see through his eyes, so he often scouts around Garrison City for me." The dog, who had been relaxing on a mat in the corner, heard the distress in her voice and came over to lean against her thigh, tail thumping on the chair leg. Colleen scruffed a hand over his head. "This is Gunther. He watches for me, too, though not through magic."

Pidge nodded, reaching up to scratch her fingers through Holly's fur. "I'm glad you had both of them while we were away. I hated... I hate thinking about you being alone here."

Colleen shook her head and gave her a pained smile. "Trust me, I was much more worried for you than I was for myself. Central Command may be displeased with my existence, but they dare not move against me more than they already have. I'm a war widow, crazy with grief as I may be." She looked at Lance. "Please, continue your story."

Lance hesitated, gaze moving searchingly over her face. After a moment, he accepted that she needed to hear his story more than she needed to talk about her own troubles, so he nodded and went on. His meeting with Pidge in the alleyway, the return to The Crystal Lion, learning about their destiny, the struggle to accept it, then the journey away from the city. Hunk sat up straighter when Lance told about their meeting in the swamp, along with a brief explanation of their history as childhood friends. The way the three of them found an instant kinship and easy teamwork together, their wanderings through the farmland and the wilderness, their swift friendship and bonding as a strong adventuring party.

Then, the shared dreams. Lance's eyes flicked to Pidge. After his overview, she would open her notebook, already laid on the table in front of her, and share all the details she had. First, though, Lance described their journey into the Craglins and their meeting with Ulaz, their understanding that they were looking for a ranger named Keith. Then, their trip to Garrison City and the clues they had gotten from the weaponsmith, the name and description of the dreamer who had filled their nights with disturbing visions.

Finally, Lance finished his tale and looked Colleen in the eyes, still cuddling his sleepy lion to his chest. "And that's the bones of it. There's a lot more we have to tell you. Ever since we started having those dreams, Pidge has been taking notes. We've been telling Allura everything all along, of course, but Pidge has always wanted to show them to you, too."

Pidge nodded, and her fingers tightened on the leather cover of the notebook in front of her. Colleen looked at her with a nod, but her gaze returned to Lance. "All right. I will definitely want to see that. But first... I think I may have news of this Keith and Shiro to share with you."

Lance caught his breath. Hunk's eyes widened. He saw Lance and Pidge sitting up straighter and shared a glance with them, and then they all turned back to Colleen, leaning forward in their seats.

"Really?" Lance's voice came out in a squeak. "How?"

"Bae Bae?" Pidge asked. "He saw something?"

Colleen nodded solemnly. "I've been keeping an eye on Central Command. Well, Bae Bae has. He can hide out on the building across the street from the main entrance, looking just like a stone gargoyle. Two days ago, two boys that sound just like the folks you're describing went into the building. A ranger with two swords wearing red and white, and a man in black with a streak of white in his hair. At the door, they told the watchkeeper that they had an urgent warning from the Waste. I took note because the one in black mentioned the Wolfhound Expedition." Pidge sat up straighter, and her mother gave her an understanding nod. "The watchkeeper looked electrified and ushered them in immediately." Her mouth flattened into a thin line. "And...they never came out."

Hunk caught his breath, Lance's eyes widened, and Pidge froze where she sat. "You mean... You think they're still talking to the commanders?" Hunk asked. It was a futile hope. Even he didn't believe it as he said it.

Colleen shook her head. "I don't think so. I think they're being held in custody. They haven't been moved to any of the jailhouses in the city, but Central Command has a few cells in their lower levels. I happen to know that those cells are magically warded, so I can't scry them and confirm. But it's the only thing that makes sense."

They were silent for a few moments. "What...what kind of warning could they have been bringing?" Lance asked in a small voice. Anything that had to do with the Wolfhound Expedition, with the Dragon Waste, had to be terrible news.

"I don't know. But I have a few guesses." Colleen was silent for a few moments, tapping her finger on the table beside her teacup and staring off at the wall. Then she stood up, pushing her chair back across the floor and dislodging Gunther. "One moment. I'll be right back."

She hurried to the stairs that led to the bedrooms. Pidge, Hunk, and Lance looked at each other. Pidge looked stricken, Lance was pale, and Hunk knew that his face was dismayed, too. Everything seemed to be happening much, much too quickly.

In less than a minute, Colleen returned carrying a small tin in her hands. It was made of battered metal and carried the logo of some old potion or cream, faded and worn, but she carried it as if it contained jewels. She sat down at the table and opened the lid, revealing a stash of colorful marbles.

The three adventurers leaned forward, eyes glued on the box. "I don't...I don't get it," Lance confessed.

"I think I do." Pidge looked up at her mother. "Are they Speaking Stones?"

Colleen nodded. She reached into the tin and pulled out a glass marble, translucent blue with streaks of opaque white. She rolled it reverently between her thumb and forefinger and looked at Hunk and Lance. "My son, Matthew, is a skilled artificer. Before he and my husband left on the Wolfhound Expedition, he prepared fifty pairs of Speaking Stones, giving half to me and half to his father. They allow a single message to be passed from one stone to its bonded twin, no matter the distance between them after the spell is cast."

She put that marble down and picked up another one, milky red with flecks of gold paint inside. "The messages have to be short. No more than twenty-five words. The Speaking Stone spell usually only works once, and after that the stones revert to ordinary objects again. But Matt is a clever wizard. These stones don't just convey the message. They hold it forever, a permanent record."

She selected another marble, plain glass with no colors, and held it up to her eye. _"Speak."_

A voice came from the stone, clear and warm and male. Samuel Holt, speaking a message created years ago and miles away. Yet it seemed, in that moment, like he was sitting there with them at the table, speaking sweetly to his wife over tea and scones.

"Colleen, I shouldn't use a stone so soon, but I couldn't help myself. I love you and miss you already. Kiss Katie for me."

Pidge sucked in a breath, her eyes filling with tears. Colleen gave her a sad smile and set the marble back in the tin. "I'm sorry I didn't show you earlier, sweetie. If Central Command ever found out about these, they would confiscate them, and I would lose all trace of your father's voice. As soon as the expedition vanished, I knew I had to hide them away. So I did. I should have shared them with you, though, especially after you started looking for answers on your own."

Pidge nodded numbly. "We both kept secrets we shouldn't have."

Lance looked at Colleen solemnly. "Why now? Does it have something to do with Shiro and Keith?"

She flashed him a smile. "You're a clever young bard, aren't you?"

Lance grinned and preened under the praise. Colleen nodded and went back to the box. "I brought these out because when you said the name Shiro, I recognized it. And not from seeing him at Central Command."

She picked up another marble and held it to her face. _"Speak."_

Sam's voice again. "We've met an expedition soldier named Shiro. Very kind, curious young man. Keeps asking Matt to tell him about the stars. Wonderful evening companion."

Hunk swallowed. "The man we've been looking for... The dreamer the three of us are all connected to... He knew Matt and Sam Holt." He darted a glance at Pidge. "Knows," he amended. "He knows Matt and Sam Holt."

"He was part of the Wolfhound Expedition," Lance said, his voice low with awe. "And he _survived."_

Pidge stood up from the table, hands clenched into fists in front of her. Holly leaped from her shoulder and flew around the room in a tight circle, bursting with excitement. "Mom." She was staring at her mother with fiery intensity in her light brown eyes. "We have to rescue him. We _have_ to. For... A lot of reasons."

Colleen smiled up at her, her face soft and warm, while her eyes were just as fierce as her daughter's. "Yes, we do," she said calmly. "And that's exactly what we're going to do."


	9. Chapter 9

Even from here, hidden in a back alley behind Central Command, Hunk thought he could hear Colleen's voice. She was at the main entrance, talking to the watchkeeper. Well, yelling at the watchkeeper, more like. "And I'm telling you, _again,_ that I have more evidence about the Wolfhound Expedition. You _must_ let me in to talk to the commanders!"

Hunk couldn't hear what the watchkeeper was saying, but he could imagine it. Something pained and calm, trying to dimiss Colleen without upsetting her. Whatever he said, it didn't work. Colleen continued to yell, even louder than before, accusing the man of obstructing justice and causing harm and distress to a war widow, and on and on.

Hunk cast a nervous glance at Lance, crouching beside him. "You think Pidge got inside by now?"

Lance stared down the alley, his shoulders tense and face grim. He nodded. "Yeah. She was getting really good with that disguise spell."

In addition to letting her obscure her presence and make herself seem ordinary and forgettable, Pidge's Glasses of Disguise could also be used to create a more specific facade, though that took more effort and care. After they'd talked everything out and made their plans last night, Pidge had spent some time practicing with the glasses to make herself look like someone who could belong in Central Command. Her mom had helped, coaching her on the way her uniform should look, her hair, her shoes, her facial expression.

So now, Colleen was distracting the guards at the doors to give Pidge every chance of slipping inside without being remarked upon or stopped. Once in, she was going to move directly to this alley door and let Hunk and Lance in so they could sneak down in to the lower levels of the building and look for Shiro and Keith.

It was probably going to take Pidge a while to get to them, even once she was in. Hunk stared at the wall and fidgeted with his hands. From the outside, they couldn't even tell a door was here. All they saw was a blank wall. It was impossible to open from the outside, even for a skilled rogue like Pidge. All of the visible doors in the building were guarded, and there was no way the three of them would have been able to all sneak in at once, even if they'd had two more magic items to give them disguise spells.

Once they were in... They would just have to figure it out as they went. That part of the "plan" made Hunk nervous, too, though Pidge and Lance seemed more comfortable with winging it. He had no idea how the three of them would fight their way out of a heavily guarded government building in Garrison City of all places if they got caught. They would just have to be sneaky, that was all.

They couldn't leave Shiro and Keith here. That, Hunk was sure about. He drew a slow breath and closed his eyes for a moment, steeling his resolve. Last night, the three of them had had another shared dream from Shiro's perspective. They didn't get anything useful from it, nothing about the cell he was in or how to find it, but there was a feeling of being trapped, frantic and in pain. Horrible, agonizing pain.

Shiro was hurting. Their teammate was hurting. No matter the consequences, they had to break him out. This, Hunk was sure of, though he was sure of almost nothing else.

The outline of a door appeared on the wall in front of them, fading into existence as if emerging from the bricks. Then it snapped into solidity with a faint _crack_ like the sound of a whip. Wooden frame, ornate metal handle, and the door itself was thick and heavy and probably made of solid oak. The door was already opening as it appeared, and there was Pidge in her guard uniform, looking like a middle-aged female dwarf. They only knew it was her because they'd seen this disguise last night. Well, and the green lion peering curiously over her shoulder might have also been a clue.

Pidge waved her hand, beckoning them in. Hunk and Lance hurried through the door as quietly as they could, Sunny and Blue flying in behind them, and found themselves in a plain hallway with yellow lanterns on the walls. Pidge closed the door, then joined them as they stood in a small circle, looking around. They could hear voices and footsteps in other parts of the building, but this place seemed secluded enough to hide in, for the moment.

Pidge sighed as her disguise faded, revealing her usual messy brown hair and dark, roguish clothes. Lance gave her a curious look, and she shrugged. "If they catch us together, the disguise wouldn't work anyway. We just have to stay out of sight from now on."

Lance nodded, then looked to Hunk. "The map?"

Hunk started, then reached into his breastplate for the parchment Colleen had given them. It had the layout of Central Command, as much as she was able to give them. Which, since she was a divination expert who had been sneaking around trying to find out more information on the government for two years, was quite a bit.

Hunk stretched out the map between them, trying not to let it rustle too much. The three adventurers bent over it, Pidge reaching out with a finger to trace the route they planned to follow. They had been over it last night many, many times, but the confirmation still felt necessary. Hunk's heart was pounding, his head was faint, and he'd nearly forgotten they even had the map at all. Lance seemed nearly as on-edge as he was, too.

Pidge seemed more at ease, but then, she'd sneaked into government buildings before. Not this one, though. It had always been shut up too tight, she'd told them last night. No doubt she was nervous, too, despite her experience.

Pidge nodded, then pointed down the hallway. "Back stairway. Follow me." She began to walk along the edge of the wall, moving smoothly and silently. Hunk and Lance followed. Hunk's armor made no noise, thanks to the scroll of Iron Silence that they had bought and used before arriving here. Colleen knew all the magic shops with the best prices, of course, so she had been able to get them in early. And she knew about obscure magic like Iron Silence, which was a bard spell, so Lance had been able to cast it from the scroll even though he didn't know the spell himself.

If they got caught, it would probably still be Hunks' fault, though. He didn't exactly move with the grace of a fairy lion.

Hunk winced at every creak of the floor beneath his feet, heart in his throat the entire way, but they made it to the staircase Pidge wanted. It was dusty and unused, lit only from above and below, and that faintly. Hunk eyed it with distrust, but Pidge was already moving downward, Lance right behind her. Hunk had no choice but to follow.

Sunny purred in his ear, comfortingly close. The lions seemed happy to be here, no matter how nervous the humans were. Maybe the lions could tell that they were getting closer to one of their missing party members.

They reached the lowest levels, the part that didn't show up on the map. Colleen was right about it being warded. Little runes hung out in the corners and crawled along the edge of the wall and ceiling at intervals. Hunk didn't feel any loss of connection to the Boars and their divine favor, so these wards must be only for anti-scrying, but the cells no doubt had a lot more to prevent the prisoners from using magic to escape.

They heard the scuffling of someone's shoe ahead, leather against wooden planking. A guard or guards. Pidge gestured for Hunk and Lance to stay where they were, then scouted ahead. She moved so silently that Hunk could have believed her to be a ghost. Hunk and Lance waited in a darkened doorway, shoulders pressed together and mouths shut, breathing quietly.

Hunk could feel the tension in Lance's shoulder, as well as a trembling eagerness to go out there and follow Pidge into danger. He reached over and grabbed his upper arm and gave it a squeeze. Lance cast him a sideways glance, then nodded and looked forward, some of the stiffness in his muscles easing away.

As usual, it fell to Hunk to carry every scrap of common sense the three of them had. After Lance found out that Shiro had been part of the Wolfhound Expedition and come back alive, he'd gone starry-eyed with awe and became even more convinced that they had to rescue him _right away._ It was a toss-up now which one of Hunk's teammates was more eager to complete this task, Pidge or Lance.

Pidge came back, frustration clear on her face. They huddled up, and Pidge explained. "The cells are in one hallway with an entry room. No back entrance, no way around. And there's a guard there, hanging out at a table. Just one, but there's no way to sneak past him. We'll have to deal with him one way or another."

Hunk grimaced. He didn't want to kill anyone, and even knocking someone out could be easier said than done, depending on how strong he was. No matter what, this was going to alert the entire building to their presence. As soon as the guard saw them, or was attacked by them, he was going to raise an alarm.

Lance stood straighter, a spark in his eye. "Could I take a crack at this one?"

Pidge and Hunk looked at him, then each other. "What are you thinking?" Hunk asked.

Lance flashed his most charming and winning smile. "I'm gonna win him over."

Pidge's nose wrinkled. "With magic, or just your charisma? Because I don't know about that second one."

Lance pressed a hand over his heart with a look of shock and betrayal. "Pidge, you wound me." He smiled easily to show he took no real offense. "Both, of course."

He gave her a wink and two thumbs up, then strode confidently out into the hall. Hunk and Pidge followed, hanging back a few feet. Up ahead was the entry room that led to the cells, light and noise flowing into the hallway. It sounded like the guard was muttering to himself, something about how boring this job was.

Lance squared his shoulders, then stepped into the room. As he moved, Hunk heard him murmur the words for a spell under his breath. _"Charm Person."_ Then he was inside, already chattering up a storm before the guard could react. "Hey! My buddy, my man, my good ol' pal. Fancy seeing you here, huh? Can't believe we're meeting again this way. How've you been?"

After a moment, the guard spoke. His voice was hesitant, but not alarmed. It seemed he had failed to see through the ruse and had fallen for both Lance's charm spell and his personality. "Have we...met before?"

"My dude! I can't believe you've forgotten! It's Lancey Lance, your old buddy!"

"Oh, right." Relief and pleasure in the guard's voice. He didn't sound like he remembered Lance. He was just glad to have his name so he wouldn't have to ask. "Lance! Good to see you again!" There was a sound like they were hugging and pounding on each other's backs. Hunk knew that sound, having shared hugs like that with Lance on many occasions.

Pidge pressed both hands against her mouth. Hunk held his breath to keep from laughing. Lance had this guy in the palm of his hand and he barely seemed to be trying.

"So hey," Lance went on. "Good news! I've been hired by Central Command, so we'll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on. And my first job is to give you a break guarding these cells. Isn't that great? I didn't even know it was you down here. Lucky, huh? Got to see you earlier than I expected."

"Oh, yeah," the guard said enthusiastically. "That's great news. I didn't...um... Didn't expect this either."

"We'll have to catch up later. Drink some beer, talk about life. You know a good tavern around these parts?"

"There's one just down the street, The Glowing Owl."

"Perfect! I'll meet you there this evening. For now, why don't you go back upstairs and see the sun again? I know it can't be fun down here in the dark by yourself. How many prisoners do you even have right now?"

"Just the two. But they're troublesome enough. So loud."

Lance made a noise of sympathetic disgust. "I'll try not to let it bother me. See you later, right, my man?"

"Oh, yes. Absolutely."

Pidge and Hunk faded back into a dark doorway as the guard left the entry room and strode away down the hall, grinning dazedly. They peered around the corner to watch him go, and as soon as he was gone, they both darted to the entry room. Lance was waiting for them, smiling like a fool.

"Lance!" Hunk caught him up in a big hug and pounded his back. "That was amazing! He did what you asked and he wasn't even upset about it. It was great!"

Lance laughed and pounded him back. Pidge shifted eagerly from foot to foot, her smile fading as she looked around. "Yeah, that worked really well," she said. "But did it work well enough for him to give you his keys?"

Lance shook his head. "Charm Person won't let me make someone do something they wouldn't normally do. I didn't dare to ask. Every guard here ought to have their own keys, so it would have raised suspicion if I'd asked for his."

Pidge drew a breath and nodded. "Fair enough. We'll just have to break them out on our own."

Hunk looked down the hall of cells, laughter dying in his chest as his shoulders rose. Sunny was standing up on his shoulder, back arched and fur lifted. Something down there made him uneasy, and Hunk didn't like it either. "Let's go," he said, hand on his broadsword. He didn't think he would need his weapon, but better safe than sorry.

They moved down the hallway, slow and careful, all three of them within arm's length of each other. The lions all were deeply unhappy to be here, now, hunkering on their humans' shoulders, tails whipping anxiously and ears pinned back. Hunk could almost feel a buzz of magic in the air, discordant and grating. The wards in the cells were leaking through to the hallway, perhaps. The magic was harsh and powerful and uncomfortable, seeming to itch against his skin.

Goosebumps prickled to life on the back of Hunk's neck as the sound of a human moan lifted in the air. Another voice answered, soft and murmuring, trying to offer comfort. It was coming from further down, a cell at the end of the row. The three adventurers moved faster now, Pidge and Hunk with their hands on their weapons, Lance's hand lifted in preparation of casting Ray of Frost.

They reached the door with the voices behind it. The deeper voice was pained, trying to force it back and not succeeding. The other voice sounded young and stressed, choked with sympathy. It was another thick, solid oak door like the one in the alley, but this one had a barred window that Hunk didn't bother to look through. He put his hand on the metal handle and pulled with all his might.

Nothing happened at first. It was locked. The voices behind the door ceased, held in anxious waiting. Hunk grunted and put his other hand on the door, too. Sunny spread his stance on his shoulder, and Hunk felt strength flowing from his lion into his arms, into his legs, through his whole body. It lit him up like sunshine, filling him with power from toe to tip.

Their teammate was behind that door. Hunk wasn't going to leave him here, no matter what he had to do.

"Hunk, back up," Lance said at his elbow. "We'll kick the door down."

Hunk shook his head with a grunt. "Not necessary."

He gave one more mighty pull, bolstered by Sunny and by his own ferocious will, and the door broke off its hinges. He pushed it aside, let it drop to the floor. And the three of them stepped up to the opening and looked inside.


	10. Chapter 10

Inside the cell were two young men, one bent over himself while he sat on the floor, holding his arm, and the other crouched over him with his hands wrapped around the sitting man's upper arm, his face full of concern. Hunk recognized the standing one as Keith and the sitting one as Shiro from their descriptions, though he hadn't known before that Keith was either an elf or half-elf, judging by his ears. Probably a half-elf, since he seemed shorter than the average elf, his face a little rounder and more soft.

And Shiro... Something was seriously, dangerously wrong with his right arm. The sleeve was rolled up to his elbow, revealing a lattice of spellwork all over his flesh. It was all in purple. It was all in Galra runes. And it was glowing faintly with a sick, corrupt light.

At the sight, a gasp pushed out of Hunk's lips. This was the spellwork from the shared dreams. He raised wide eyes to find Keith staring at them, his teeth bared in protective hostility. Lance was gaping at him in dismay. "It's you! You _are_ that Keith!"

Keith whipped his head over to stare at Lance in return. No recognition showed in his eyes, but his lips pulled back over his teeth in snarl. "Who are you? What do you want with us?" He released Shiro's arm and took a step forward, standing between him and the three at the door. "You'd better not try anything, or I swear..."

"Whoa, whoa whoa." Hunk held out his hands at waist height and waved them downward, trying to invoke calm. He could feel hostility radiating from Lance as well, and he didn't get that at all. He looked between them, trying to understand. Lance looked confused and annoyed, but not like he planned to attack, while Keith _definitely_ looked like he was willing to attack anyone and anything who dared to go after his friend.

"We're not here to hurt you, I swear," Hunk said in the most sincere, steady voice he could manage. Since his heart was still thumping in his chest, it wasn't exactly his best attempt. "We're here to rescue you, actually. You're Keith, right? And the guy behind you is Shiro?"

Keith's eyes flickered, and he glanced behind him at Shiro, then forward at Hunk again. "Who are you? Did the Garrison City commanders send you?"

"Oh, by the Dragon!" Lance burst out, flailing his arms in frustration. "Just _think_ for a second, can you do that? If the commanders had sent us, Hunk wouldn't have needed to break the door down to get in, would he? Can we please talk to Shiro? He'll be able to see our lions. He'll know we're different."

"Lions?" Keith straightened up, stance loosening as his eyes darted back and forth between them. He seemed to be searching for the fairy lions, as if he knew exactly what they were talking about.

Hunk turned his head to look at Sunny and found that the lion had hidden behind him, maybe because he didn't like the harsh magic that Hunk could feel radiating from inside that cell. Now, though, the little yellow head popped over his shoulder, and Sunshine Boy slowly climbed up to perch on Hunk's shoulder again. He crouched there, ears back and tail lashing with discomfort, but he looked at Keith with curiosity. Beside them, Blue had similarly climbed onto Lance's hat, half hiding behind his feather.

A short gasp stuttered out of Keith's lips. "You have fairy lions, too."

"What do you mean, 'too?'" Lance demanded, but Keith had already turned away from them and returned to Shiro.

Hunk craned his head and saw that Pidge was already there, kneeling in front of Shiro and looking into his face as she murmured something. She must have sneaked in there while the rest of them were arguing, and somehow Keith hadn't registered her as a threat. Rogue skills for you. As he watched, Shiro slowly raised his head and squinted into Pidge's face. "...Matt?" he murmured, voice low and wrecked. Keith grabbed his shoulder and held on, and Shiro looked up at him, eyes flickering.

The guy looked _terrible._ Hunk instinctively took a step inside the cell, longing only to help. As soon as he crossed the threshold, Sunny let out a squeak of distress, then went limp on his shoulder and started to slide off. Hunk stopped short, his heart in his throat, and lifted up his hand to keep him from falling. "Sunny?" he asked, sharp and alarmed.

Keith looked back at him, his face no longer hostile, just distressed. "It's something about the anti-magic wards in the cell. The lions don't react well." He nodded to a far corner, where Hunk belatedly noticed two still little bundles of fur curled up together, one red and one black. Keith squeezed Shiro's shoulder. "I think something similar is happening with Shiro's arm. It's been hurting him for a long time, ever since he escaped, but it only got this bad when they locked us in here."

He looked up at Hunk, grimacing with distaste. "I tried to... I tried to tell the guards. I told them this place is hurting him. I yelled, I shouted, I screamed. This room is torturing him, constantly, like being somewhere too cold or too hot. But they didn't listen. No one listened." Tears appeared in his eyes, and he turned his head and swiped them away with his free hand.

Hunk's heart melted instantly. "Aw, man. I'm so sorry." He stepped back into the hall, moving as quickly as he could, and set Sunny down against the wall where he would be safe, then hurried back into the cell. Lance did the same. Holly was still out there, pacing anxiously back and forth.

"We're gonna get you out of here," Lance said, almost in the same breath as Hunk said, "It's gonna be okay."

Lance was making a beeline to Shiro, who already had Pidge and Keith surrounding him, so Hunk veered around and went back to the corner with the lions. Now he got close, he could see that they were lying on someone's cloak, probably Shiro's. He knelt down, careful to keep a small distance. "Hey, guys," he said. "Can you wake up? Give me a sign?"

The red and black lions were limp where they laid, but Hunk wasn't particularly surprised when the red lion lifted their head, which had been draped over the black lion's neck, and bared their teeth at him with a hiss, ears slicked back and fur puffed. Hunk leaned away, hands up in surrender, much as he had responded to Keith's initial hostility. "It's okay, I'm here to help, I promise. Would it be okay if I picked you up?"

The black lion's eyes opened halfway, sluggish and slow, and a hesitant purr rumbled through their chest. The red lion's ears peeled up from their head, alert and facing forward, and they licked the black lion's head a couple of times. The red, puffy fur slowly subsided, and the lion looked back at Hunk with eyes half-lidded. Hunk understood. The lions were granting permission to touch them, but it was conditional.

Hunk nodded solemnly, then bent over them and gathered the cloak up to make a pouch around the weakened lions. He lifted them in his hands, trying not squish them too much, just cradling them, and turned back toward the door. In the middle of the room, Keith and Lance had managed to get Shiro to his feet, though they seemed to be fighting over it for some reason.

"Hey, come on, _I'm_ saving Shiro!" Lance complained, and Keith's head jerked back as he stared at him in shock. Pidge ignored the interplay, pushing on all of their backs to urge them out the door. Shiro panted with the effort of moving, harsh and loud, even with three people supporting him.

They moved into the hallway en masse, almost falling over each other. Hunk moved a few steps away, then knelt down and laid his precious bundle on the floor. Blue, Sunny, and Holly all rushed to meet him as he peeled back the layers of the cloak to reveal the red and black lions. Behind him, the others lowered Shiro to sit against the wall. He was still panting, but the groans of pain had tapered off.

Hunk looked over his shoulder at Shiro and Keith, still holding onto each other. Shiro's eyes were closed, his head tipped back against the wall. His arm still glowed, but not as brightly as before. "Hey, Keith, what are your lions named?"

Keith blinked rapidly. "Briar Rose and Clarity. Briar is the red one. My lion. Clarity is Shiro's. They're both female."

Hunk looked back to the lions. The two groups were in the middle of the feline greeting phase, sniffing each other with noses barely touching. Clarity was still purring, louder now. Briar was more relaxed already, no longer hunched over Clarity but lying on top of her, weary and limp. As Hunk watched, Blue cautiously stepped into the puddle of the cloak, nudging up against Briar's head with her cheek. Briar turned her head, letting Blue rub along her cheek. Both pairs of eyes closed in contentment.

Holly and Sunny moved in, too, following the always friendly and outgoing Blue. Clarity's purr intensified. In moments she was practically buried under multicolored fur, only patches of black showing through the bodies of red, blue, yellow, and green.

Hunk huffed out a breath in relief. Finally feeling safe enough to leave the lions to their own devices, he turned back down the hall and joined the others. Shiro's eyes were slowly clearing, looking around at the faces surrounding him, while Keith knelt at his shoulder and continued to murmur comfort close to his ear. At Hunk's approach, Shiro looked over at him, shoulders tensing.

Hunk could tell it was pure reflex, just a reaction to movement nearby from somone he didn't know. He lifted a hand and gave the guy a wide smile. "Hey. I'm Hunk. I broke your door down. You're Shiro, right?"

Shiro nodded. Awareness flickered across his face, and he looked around one more time, taking in their faces. He seemed to be fully back to himself, finally. He looked sideways at the open doorway, the broken door discarded on the floor, then back into Hunk's face. "You're breaking us out?"

Hunk nodded. "That's why we're here. We...we've been looking for you. For a while now."

Shiro looked at Pidge. "You're not Matt," he murmured. It might have been disappointment in his voice, or just weary resignation.

She shook her head and managed a pained smile. "His little sister. He might have mentioned me."

"Katie?"

She smiled more genuinely this time. "Yeah. I go by Pidge nowadays."

Shiro rolled his head over to look at Lance. Lance beamed at him, eyes sparkling. "I'm Lance," he said with far too much enthusiasm. "It's so great to meet you!"

He held out his right hand for a shake. Shiro started to bring his own arm forward, then halted, frowning down at it. "I... Sorry, Lance. This arm has been acting up. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm not afraid." Lance crossed the distance between them and grasped Shiro's hand firmly, palm to palm. "I'm a follower of Leviathan. No way some crazy ancient Galra magic is gonna mess with me. I'm protected six ways to Sunday. Don't worry about it."

Shiro squinted at him in confusion. Before he could ask anything, Lance released him, then puffed out his chest and placed his hand on it. "Besides, Keith was touching your arm, and there's no way I'm gonna let that guy one-up me on _anything_ ever again."

Keith blinked at him in dismay. "Who _are_ you?"

Before they could answer, there was a rush of feet over their heads, and an alarm began to sound in the building. Lance cursed and looked up overhead. "Ah, Dragon's teeth. Someone must have intercepted the guard I charmed and figured it out."

Hunk jumped to his feet, heart pounding faster than ever. "We gotta move! Now!"

He went back to the lions and found them already moving, Briar Rose and Clarity seeming to have recovered from the magical interference of the cell. Maybe the lions all snuggling and purring together had helped somehow, since they all seemed to have perked up and relaxed since he left them. Sunny leaped to Hunk's shoulder, wings forming momentarily in the air, and each of the other lions also went to their chosen person.

Hunk had a headstart because of his jumpiness, but Lance was faster and got ahead of him as they raced down the hall, Blue dangling in his arms. Hunk looked over his shoulder to make sure Shiro was moving okay and found him coming right along, still holding his arm, his teeth clenched in a grimace. Pidge and Keith were both at his elbows, ready to catch him if he stumbled, but he was keeping his feet well enough.

Lance led the way through the entry room where he had charmed the guard and back into the darkened hallways of the lower level. Hunk heard feet on the stairs and almost died of terror. What were they going to do? How were they going to get out now?

Lance must have been paying attention to the layout as they moved around down on here, because he took them, swift and sure, to an unused storeroom. He opened the door, then waited for the rest of them to all pile in before he swept in at the rear and shut the door behind them. Then he bent over with his ear at the keyhole, listening.

The rest of them tried to calm their rushing breath and pounding hearts, standing packed together in the dark with barely any room to move. Hunk jammed both hands over his mouth to muffle his squeak when guards ran by right outside the door, shouting and yelling to each other. Eventually the footsteps and voices faded, though they all could hear the guards moving around on the level, searching noisily.

"This isn't going to last," Pidge hissed, almost making Lance jump. She had crept up behind him while he was listening intently. "We're gonna have to prepare to fight our way out."

Hunk chewed on lip. "I don't know if we _can._ This is the heart of Garrison City. There are going to be way more guards than we can deal with."

"We can't be recaptured," Keith said, his voice hard. "That is not an option. We cannot allow them to imprison Shiro again."

"Yeah, and the rest of don't exactly want to get locked up, either," Lance sniped back. "Just...hold on, okay? We'll figure something out."

Hunk pressed closer to him, leaning into his buddy while trying not to put weight on him. Lance often came up with the plans for their little three-person party, since he was observant and intelligent and always thinking of creative solutions to whatever problems faced them. Hunk was usually totally fine with following Lance's lead. But he just couldn't imagine a way out for them through this situation.

"Lance," he whispered, doing his utmost not be overheard. "What are we gonna do?"

Lance was silent for a long moment. Too long. And Hunk knew he didn't have a plan at all.

"Wait..." Shiro's voice was low and hesitant.

Hunk looked back at him. The faint radiance from his Galra arm provided the only light in the room. By it, he could just make out Shiro cradling Clarity against his chest, bending over her with his face almost hidden in her body. "My lion is trying to tell me something..."

The Galra arm brightened, and Shiro gasped in pain and alarm. The others backed away, even Keith startled enough to move. But Clarity continued to purr, so loudly and continuously that the sound filled the small space they hid in. Shiro drew in a breath, slow and controlled, as if he had realized something. Then, something changed.

A disk of light began to appear in the air, swirling purple and pink and white. It spread out, expanding rapidly as it spun, like the movement of a galaxy. It was so bright that Hunk had to close his eyes. When he opened them, blinking to clear away the spots, the magic was finished. There next to Shiro was a portal, hovering in the air. And on the other side...

"That's the alley where we came in," Lance said, low and excited. "We can escape that way. C'mon, let's go!"

Pidge was already through the portal before he finished, and Lance was right behind. Keith and Shiro hesitated, gaping with open mouths, though Clarity had not stopped purring. Hunk paused long enough to give them a smile. "Don't worry. This is something the lions like to do. They just...give us magic, sometimes. When we need it really bad. This must be yours, Shiro."

He reached out and patted him on the shoulder. The right shoulder, deliberately choosing to show Shiro that he wasn't afraid, either.

Then he hopped through the portal, following his friends.


	11. Chapter 11

Once they were all in the alley and the portal closed, they paused for a moment to gather themselves. Keith and Shiro both breathed deep of the free air, not seeming to mind that it smelled of garbage here. They blinked around, reorienting themselves. Both of them were cradling their lions in their arms, who still seemed limp and out of it, though they were much better than earlier. Shiro's cloak was slung over Keith's shoulder, scooped off the floor as they ran.

Shiro seemed rather shaky, even after Keith had steadied. He shifted Clarity against his chest and rolled down his sleeve with trembling fingers, hiding the Galra script, then took the cloak back from Keith and swung it around his shoulders. Hunk stood near, ready to catch his shoulder if he lost his balance. When Shiro finished situating himself, he noticed him standing there and offered a hesitant smile.

Hunk smiled back, then looked from Shiro to Keith. "Are either of you hurt? Lance and I can both do healing magic, and Pidge has a wand of cure wounds."

"I'm all right." Shiro's voice was soft and warm, now that it wasn't choked with pain and fear. Hunk liked it immediately. He liked everything about this new teammate, actually. "Thank you for rescuing us."

Keith nodded, too. "I'm fine. Thanks."

Hunk nodded. "Our pleasure. Like I said, we've been looking for you." He met Keith's eyes. "Both of you, though we didn't know it. Good to meet you, buddy." Not for an instant had any of them suspected that they would meet _both_ of their missing party members in that building, but Hunk was happy, nonetheless. This part of the quest was over now, though he had no idea what that meant for the future.

Keith pulled in a wavering breath. His voice was higher than normal when he spoke. "Why? Why were you looking for us? How did you know where we were? Why do you have fairy lions? Why do _we_ have lions? Do you know? Please, just... Who are you?"

Noise in the building, the sound of running and shouts, had Hunk flinching and jerking away from the wall as if it could burn him.

"We'll be happy to explain," Lance said, voice heightened with urgency. "Just not here. Pidge?"

She was already moving, waving her arm for them to follow. They set off down the alley, Pidge in the front with the four boys moving in a clump in the back, Keith, Lance, and Hunk all ready to catch Shiro if he stumbled. Shiro seemed a little bewildered by the attention, but grateful, too.

Pidge led them through a series of alleys and side streets, all the way back to her family home. They didn't speak much except a few mumured directions, but Hunk could practically feel Keith radiating with unanswered questions. At least by the time they got back to the house he seemed to have mellowed a bit, as if the time in their company, however brief, had convinced them that they weren't going to stab him in the back in the immediate future.

Colleen was waiting for them. As soon they appeared on the street outside the house, she hurried to meet them, Gunther on her heels and Bae Bae wheeling in the air overhead, much like the lions did when they were too keyed up to be still. After a quick greeting, she cast a few spells on the gate and the surrounding area, probably to conceal their path. Then, finally, they were all inside the house, and Hunk felt safe for the first time all day.

Colleen leaned into Shiro and Keith's space, tugging at their outer clothes to get them off. "You must be Keith, and you must be Shiro, yes? You poor boys. My name is Colleen. Here, let's get you comfortable. There are scones from last night, and the fire in the family room is warm. Katie, tea?"

"Yes, Mom." She bounced off to the kitchen, steps light and airy.

Lance hung up his cloak and hat on the hooks beside the door, next to Pidge's, then took Shiro's cloak from Colleen, followed by Keith's outer robe. Hunk was already loosening the straps on his breastplate. As Colleen bustled Keith and Shiro to the couch in the family room, Lance turned to helping Hunk get comfortable, too.

Before long they were all cozily sitting in the family room, some with their feet up, all with a cup of tea or a scone or both. Shiro, in particular, had been wrapped up like a sausage roll, folded into blankets and bundled onto the couch with Keith on one side and Pidge on the other, Gunther at his feet thumping his tail and Clarity curled up in his lap in a mound of purring black fur.

Keith and Shiro still looked bewildered, but much more relaxed now, fussed over by someone's mother and repeatedly told that they were not allowed to do anything except relax. Shiro's eyes began to droop, chin nodding toward his chest, though he held onto the cup of tea in his hands with dogged tenacity.

Colleen sat across from them in a rocking chair by the fireplace, stroking Bae Bae's head as he rested in her lap. Hunk had an armchair that he suspected should be Mr. Holt's proper place, and Lance sat near him on a stool tipped back and balanced on the back legs, his arms folded behind his head as he whistled cheerfully through his teeth.

"I don't...I still don't know who you are," Keith said softly. His voice was not aggressive and stressed, as it had been in the alley. Just young and a little lost. He looked at Colleen, then to Pidge, Hunk, and Lance. "I... I'm grateful. Truly. But..." He looked down at Briar Rose, who was in the middle of the floor cuddling with Holly, Sunny, and Blue on a coiled rug. "Can you please explain now?"

Lance's whistling ceased, and he let his stool fall back on four legs with a thump. He leaned forward and peered at Keith, a scowl tugging on his lips. "Are you saying that you don't even remember me? Like not at _all?_ Seriously?"

Keith stared at him straight on for an uncomfortably long time, face blank. Then he blinked, and realization dawned. "Hold on a second... That was you? In Lati City, up north?"

Lance threw his arms in the air in vindication. _"Yes!_ You remembered! Thank the Dragon. I was beginning to think I'd gone mad, or maybe you had."

Pidge's eyes darted between them, eyes narrowed and a smile beginning to widen on her face as she sensed mischief. "So...what exactly happened with you two, then? Might as well start all the storytelling with something light."

Lance stomped his foot on the floor in dudgeon and pointed a finger at her, cheeks reddening. "It was _not_ light, Pidge, you take that back. It was extremely serious!"

Keith's forehead wrinkled like he was getting a headache. "It was a simple street wager."

"It was serious to me! You're saying you didn't take it seriously? You won!"

"Well, yes. Of course I won."

Lance gaped at him. A high, strangled whine sounded in his throat.

Shiro blinked slowly, then nudged Keith with his elbow. "Buddy, that sounded arrogant." It was a soft, kind admonition, like a reminder of something they had discussed many times in the past.

Keith blinked, then flushed, not in anger but in embarrassment. He slumped back against the couch and leaned into Shiro's side, almost hiding behind his shoulder. "Sorry," he mumbled, suddenly contrite. "I didn't mean to sound arrogant."

It was Lance's turn to look confused. He rubbed his hands on his trousers and shook his head. "You beat me. At a game of sharpshooting, in a way. It was a game of throwing balls at a line of empty bottles, remember? I've always been known for having good aim among my clan, so it was humiliating to be beaten by a random stranger on the street. You even said you weren't particularly good at the game and you had only played it once or twice. So what gives, huh? Why do you act like it was just natural that you won?"

Keith shrugged. His lips pressed together, as if he was struggling with the truth. Then he let it out. "It was a con. I was in on it with the man running the game. If I had known you and I were going to meet like this someday in the future, I never would have done it. I was only stuck in that city for a few weeks, anyway, before I got enough money to leave. He offered me the job after he caught me stealing scraps behind a tavern, and I took it. I'm sorry I helped to fool you."

Silence fell on the room for a few long moments, cold and heavy. Pidge had been wrong. This story wasn't light at all. Her dismay showed on her face. Lance's too. Keith stared forward at the lion pile, his cheeks rosy with shame.

Shiro looked across the circle, gently meeting Lance's gaze. "Keith had a hard life. For a long time. He did a lot of things he's not proud of. It's not my place to say more than that, but I hope that this explanation satisfies you."

Lance nodded numbly and leaned back, his eyes on the floor. Hunk leaned sideways to put a hand on his back. He knew Lance felt bad now about inadvertently forcing Keith to spill sad secrets to a room of strangers, but there was no way he could have known.

Shiro raised his eyes to Colleen and cleared his throat. "I have to ask... Have you heard anything from Matt and Mr. Holt?"

Colleen shook her head. "Nothing until you showed up at Central Command."

Shiro sighed, but he didn't seem surprised. "I thought not. Still...I had to know for sure."

Colleen nodded, her eyes soft and compassionate. "You can tell us your story when you're a bit more rested. First though, Lance, honey?"

His head shot up, and he turned toward her, instantly alert.

"Can you tell the story again?" She gestured toward the couch. "I know Keith and Shiro are desperate to hear it. I promise no one will interrupt you this time." She looked at Pidge and Hunk, and they nodded sheepishly.

Lance's mouth twisted in a reluctant grin. Then he sat up straight on his stool and shook himself, visibly settling into storyteller mode. He looked to Shiro and Keith, chin up and eyes bright. "All right. So it all started back a few months ago. I was singing outside a mansion in Sura City..."

Lance told the story well, of course. Having heard it before, Hunk spent the duration watching Keith and Shiro's reactions. They were entertaining, at first. But at a certain point, something Hunk didn't recognize settled onto both of their faces. It was similar, but not the same between them. He leaned back into his armchair and frowned, contemplating what he was seeing, until he finally understood.

Longing. When Lance spoke so eagerly, so enthusiastically, about how all five of them were a team, that was when it first appeared on Keith's face, then on Shiro's. They kept looking between Lance and the lions, struggling to comprehend the tale. Hunk knew very well that Lance believed in destiny and fate, having come from a clan of superstitious sailors, so when he said that the five of them belonged together, he _meant_ it. That sincerity shone through, loud and strong, and Shiro and Keith were both immensely drawn to it.

Hunk knew little about his new teammates' histories, at least yet, but he could put some pieces together. Keith had had a rough life, at least for a while. Possibly homeless, certainly outcast, scratching and scraping for anything he could put together and desperately looking for a way out. Shiro had been kidnapped and used by the Galra, probably tortured, certainly altered, his arm made into a thing of pain and witchcraft he could not control. They both had longed for escape. They both had found it.

They had found each other, too, and traveled together for some time. They looked at each other with fondness and leaned into each other protectively. They had become family, the two of them, but they had still been lonely and uncertain and frightened. Hunk shuddered to think of these two poor boys locked in a basement like that, taken captive by a cruel authority, ignored and imprisoned once again.

And here was Lance, bright, bubbly, beautiful Lance, part of the team who had just rescued them, expounding at length on how the five of them had a shared quest, a shared destiny, how all of them were meant to party together and adventure on a grand journey against a mighty foe. It was the stuff of dreams, of legends, of tales told for generations around hearths and campfires and in city squares, and Lance was using all of his bardic skill to show it. No wonder Keith and Shiro had such looks of longing on their faces. No wonder they were drawn to Lance's voice like hungry strays to an open door.

At length, Lance came down from on high and wove his tale gracefully to a close. He had stood up from his stool as his excitement built, gesturing in the air and occasionally bringing forth a brief illusion to illustrate his tale, but now he fell slowly, gradually still. His hands lowered to his sides, his face lost some of its brilliant shine, and a hint of hesitation and doubt tilted his shoulders and wriggled in his fingers. He looked to Keith and Shiro, still with that earnest sincerity in his face.

"And...and that's it. That's the whole thing. I know... It took me some time to accept it. I didn't want this quest, at first. I wanted to refuse. So did Pidge, and so even did Hunk, once upon a time, back when he was first called as a paladin. If the two of you don't want to party with us, we won't force you. Destiny is not a shackle. It's a choice. But..." He looked to Pidge, then to Hunk, and got matching nods from each, firm and resolute. He smiled and looked back to Keith and Shiro, then spread his arms. "If you'll have us, we would very much like you to join us on this quest. Please consider it."

Story finished at last, Lance swept into a deep, theatrical bow, as when he finished one of his performances in a market or an inn. Then he sat down on his tool and pressed his hands together in his lap, looking at Keith and Shiro with bright eyes and a pleased smile.

"You don't have to answer right away," Hunk chose to add, looking at Keith and Shiro with deep sympathy. "You've both been through a lot. You just escaped an awful prison, and you deserve all the time you need to rest and recuperate." He looked to Colleen. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't mean to offer your hospitality for you."

Colleen shook her head firmly. "Not at all. You said exactly what I was going to say." She gave Shiro and Keith broad nods. "You are welcome here, both of you. For my family's sake, and for my own. My home is yours for as long as you need it."

Shiro hesitated, then offered a smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Holt."

"Colleen. You are family here."

Shiro chuckled. "Colleen. Thank you. For both of us." He and Keith exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other, and Shiro looked to Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. "There is still much to discuss. I...I must admit I have no strength right now to share my story, but it needs to be told. Before that, though, I can certainly say... Yes. Keith and I would be honored to party with the three of you. Thank you. From the bottom of our hearts. Thank you." Keith nodded, seeming overcome.

Pidge laughed and clapped, Lance cheered, and Hunk grinned large and wide. Shiro smiled at them and leaned back against the couch, eyes drooping and teacup empty. Keith dropped his head on Shiro's shoulder and heaved a weary, heartfelt sigh. Colleen smiled, Gunther barked, and the lions purred.

It was a beginning. Still much to do, much to discuss, much to learn. But it was a beginning. Hunk could not have been happier.

He had wanted a party, companions and friends to walk at his side and help him when he was in trouble. Turned out that he had had to help his party members first, rescuing first Pidge and Lance from the cult of the Frog, then breaking Keith and Shiro out from unjust imprisonment. But he knew he could count on them, one and all. No matter what came next, their party was complete at last, and Hunk was content.


	12. Chapter 12

A distant sound rippled through the planar system, like the chiming of a bell. It was far away, but clear and distinct. Allura recognized the sound, though she had heard it only once before in her lifetime, and she had not been as skilled in magic then as she was now. Still, anyone who had some connection to the Astral Plane would be able to hear and recognize this sound. It was memorable, and it was unique.

Coran heard it, too. He had been in the dining room, talking cheerfully to the guests. When the chime rang through the planes, his voice ceased for a moment, then went on. The guests didn't seem to notice the falter.

Allura moved to the back storeroom where they kept the artifacts. It was a room without windows, so she lit the lantern on the wall to provide light. After a few moments, Coran extricated himself from the conversation in the dining room and came to join her. His eyes were bright and alive, his footsteps dancing eagerly over the floorboards.

He shut the door behind him, then joined her at the table, looking over the map spread below. "It's happened," he said, voice strained with excitement. He wanted to shout, but he could not allow himself. They had to remain hidden even now. "All five Guardians of Voltron have found each other."

Allura nodded. Her fingers were trembling as she reached out toward the little lion figures spread across the map. Green, yellow, and blue were already bunched together over the symbol of Garrison City. Now, she reached for the two lions on the edge of the table. Allura had expected to only be able to place one today, when she contacted Lance and the others this evening and met the new Guardian and saw the color of his lion.

Fate was kinder than she had expected. Those three wonderful young adventurers had discovered _both_ missing Guardians, and now the party was complete. Allura lifted up the black lion, then the red, and placed them both in Garrison City with the others. "They did it," she whispered. Lance and Pidge and Hunk have followed their heralds and found the rest of their team."

"I can't wait to meet the new party members." Coran's hand found her shoulder and held on, warm and supportive. "I hope they'll both be ready to greet us when you call this evening. We knew the one named Shiro had to be a Guardian, from all of those dreams and portents, but who is the other one? Keith, Shiro's companion whose name they only heard once?"

"It must have been." Allura traced her finger over the nose of the black lion. "Guardian of the Plane of Air." She felt like the child she had once been, playing with colorful toy lion figures on the floor of her room in the Altean palace. She touched the red lion. "Guardian of the Plane of Fire." The yellow lion. "Guardian of the Plane of Earth." The blue lion. "Guardian of the Plane of Water." Last, the green lion. "Guardian of the Prime Material Plane." It felt immensely satisfying to name them all, even though this was elementary information that any child of Altea would have known, once upon a time. Now, only she and Coran were left to carry the knowledge forward.

"All five of the inner planes have their Guardians for this generation, now," Allura said. "Together, they'll begin to be able to touch the outer planes. I wonder which of them is connected to the Astral Plane? Which of them can shift through the doors and carry the others with them? It changes with each generation."

Coran squeezed her shoulder. "I couldn't guess. We'll have to wait and find out."

Allura turned to give him a brilliant smile. "You don't fool me. I know you think it's Lance."

Coran shrugged. "I know I'm biased. The boy has been a traveller all his life, what I can say. He probably feels a great affinity with the ocean between the worlds."

"We'll have to wait and see." Allura stood back, smiling down at the table. Then her smile slowly faded as all of the implications of this event began to sink in. "We weren't the only ones who heard that chime," she said soberly. "Everyone with some training to sense the Astral Plane will have felt it. The emergence of the Voltron Guardians in this generation is no longer a secret."

Coran nodded and took a step closer to her, offering the comfort of his solid presence at her shoulder. "I know. The Witch of the Void will know now, if she didn't already. And other actors may, as well. We'll have to begin their training in earnest if they're going to survive."

"But we don't have any of the old structures. No teachers, no trainers, no one schooled in how the Guardian magic works or how to develop and strengthen it. We're wandering blind in the dark, Coran. Neither of us know what we're doing. Neither of us can support them as we should."

"The lion heralds will help. Protection and guidance of the Guardians is their primary reason for existing."

Allura sighed and reached out to the map. She tented her fingers over Garrison City and the five lion figures, but even within the dome of her hand, there were gaps in the protection she could provide. There was no way to cover them entirely, no matter how she might wish to. "I hope it's enough."

She closed her eyes and faced forward, casting out with her magical senses rather than the physical. She felt the flowing energy of Sura City, this diverse and bustling meeting of paths, so bright and alive that it obscured the Altean energy that leaked from her and Coran. The day outside was bright, shining, full of promise. Ordinary citizens went about their day, traveling, talking, working, engaging in commerce. Living.

Allura couldn't see the five Guardians from here, even with magical perception, but she thought she felt their essence on the wind and the leylines, even so. Lance's sky blue adaptability, Pidge's emerald green growth, Hunk's warm yellow certainty, Shiro's cool black caution, Keith's ruby red passion. It might have been wishful thinking, but sometimes that was all Allura had.

The vision passed, and she opened her eyes with a gasp. Coran held her arm with both hands, now, trying to hold her up. His voice was urgent; he'd been trying to catch her attention from her for a while. Allura turned to him with tears in her eyes.

"I wish... I wish we could do more."

Coran's face melted from worry into grief and deep, deep understanding. "Me too, Princess," he said in a weary whisper. He pulled her into his arms, and they held on to each other for as long as they dared.

X

In another corner of the world, a workshop of a hundred mechanical treasures glittered in the sunlight that poured through the many windows, which also let in crisp mountain air and the occasional sounds of serious people talking outside. The master of the place tilted his head, listening to the wind. Was that a bell?

He moved to the front of the room and picked up one piece of clockwork from the many shelves, then another and another, looking for the errant bell. Something must have gone off prematurely, which irritated him to no end. He was a creature of precision and routine, and anything that threw him off by even the slightest margin could ruin his work for days.

After a long, flurried search, Slav stood back from his workbench and let out a strangled screech. He hadn't found the mis-chiming bell. Where could it be? He had to fix it before it drove him mad.

At the unholy sound that came from his throat, another person stuck their head inside his room. That young Blade, Slav couldn't be bothered to remember his name at the moment. He was a good sort, usually, staying out of the way when he wasn't required and running errands whenever Slav asked. "Master Slav? Are you all right?"

Slav buried his hands in his hair and pulled. "No, it bloody well isn't _all right!_ There's a bell going off at the wrong time." He paced his work area, tugging at his hair and staring down at the floor. "Every _single_ one of my clockworks must be precisely correct at all times, _all_ times, or everything will be thrown off course, don't you understand?"

He rushed up to the Blade and pointed his finger up at him from his gnomish height three feet below. "I asked, _do you understand?"_

The Blade backed away with his hands in the air. "Of course, Master Slav, of course. Whatever you need."

Slav nodded in satisfaction and began pacing and muttering again. To his irritation, though, the Blade did not go away. He just stood there, tapping his forefingers together. "Um... Could I ask... What bell you're talking about?"

Slav stopped short in utter horror, then turned and faced the Blade. His arms flew up over his head and his voice came in a piercing shriek. _"The bell!_ The bell, the bell, the one that chimed not on an hour or a half hour or even a _quarter hour_ but had the pure _audacity_ to chime for no reason at all in the _middle_ of the hour like an uncivilized _hooligan..."_ He stalked toward the Blade, waving his finger aggressively in front of him, while the Blade began to lean farther and farther back, but did not turn and run. Foolish, foolish boy.

"And it didn't even _sound_ like any of my other bells, it had such a _resonant_ quality, how dare that sound be so out of place in _my_ workshop...!"

And Slav stopped. Everything, all at once. His movement, his speech, his thoughts. He stood still on the floor, staring up at the Blade in shock. The Blade blinked back.

"It didn't sound like any of my bells," Slav said, his voice quiet now. Full of wonder.

The Blade waited for a long moment, then gave him a slow, careful nod. "That's... Is that good?"

Slav scoffed and waved a hand, then turned on his heel and raced to the other end of his workshop. "It was _different._ It was different!" He laughed, wild and free. Everything was forgotten as joy burst in his chest. "It was different! It wasn't one of my bells!"

He danced around the workshop, hooting and hollering, working feverishly to unbury the piece of equipment that had long ago been set up under the observation skylight. He hadn't had cause to use it for a long, long time, but now, at last its purpose would be fulfilled.

The young Blade stepped cautiously after him, hands clasped together. "And what...what does that mean, Master Slav? Good news I could take to Leader Kolivan, perhaps?"

Slav laughed again as he shoved the last dust sheet off the planar scope under the skylight. He tested the gears, and it worked almost perfectly. Just needed a bit of oil here and there. He raced to the other side of the workshop to fetch the oilcan, almost running into the startled Blade, who jumped out of the way just in time.

"It was _different!"_ At the machine, oilcan in hand, Slav spun around and gave the Blade his widest, most joyous grin. It was probably a bit disturbing, judging by the way the youngster started and stiffened where he stood. "Yes, yes, tell Kolivan all about the good news. The chime of the bell! The ringing of a new generation! It has happened at last!"

The Blade stood straighter, Slav's excitement finally, at long last, translating to him as well. "Then...you mean..."

Slav nodded furiously, then turned around and set to oiling the scope. "Yes! Tell Kolivan, tell the Blade of Marmora, tell everyone you can find! The Guardians of Voltron have come again, and soon all the world will know!"

Behind him, rapid footsteps sounded as the young Blade rushed away. Slav was no longer paying attention. Soon, his planar scope would be well-oiled and perfectly functioning again, and then he would finally be able to see.

Maybe this reality wasn't so bad, after all.

X

Far, far away, the chime of the bell reached a workroom in a tower, and a woman moved to the window to look over the parapet into the waste beyond. The work behind her went on, loud and grating on her ears, as she strained to hear anything else the planar winds might bring her. Haggar, the Witch of the Void, raised her hand in a sharp gesture, and the druids behind her ceased their chanting, waiting with held breath for her word of command.

No other sound came, but Haggar knew what she had heard. The Guardians of Voltron had gathered once more. She tsked and slapped her hands down on the windowsill, quickfire rage boiling through her veins. Five hundred years ago, the sacrifice of Voltron was the only thing that prevented her and her master taking over the entire world, as was their right. This time, nothing would stop them, not even Voltron.

Haggar turned her back to the window and found her druids waiting, staring at her fearfully behind the blank shapes of their masks. She stalked forward into their company, staring down at the formless mass in the center of the summoning circle. Another failure, another wasted spell. She cursed and kicked her way through the black misty thing, dispelling it. The shape fell to dust around her, showering the floor like so much worthless rain. Another gesture of her hand, and the summoning circle was spotless again, red-painted lines standing out in sharp relief against the gray stone.

She moved back to her position at the head of the circle and raised her hands. The druids stood at attention, watching. "Again," she said, voice sharp and precise. "Harder. Faster. More. We raise these servants of shadow to slay the Guardians before they slay us. If we fail, the work ahead of remaking the world will be much, much harder. We cannot fail. Again."

The druids turned to face the circle, and the summoning chant began.

The End

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry this took so long! There's a lot of foreshadowing in this epilogue, so I basically had to figure out what's going to happen in the rest of the series. I hope you enjoyed The Godsent Wanderer. It was a pleasure to write from start to finish, and all of your support has been absolutely fabulous. I hope you liked this (temporary) conclusion.

I will be taking a hiatus from this series while I write the final novel in the Boom Crash series. That one will be titled Burning Up, Burning Out, and it will start posting within the week. After that finishes, I'll work on this series again. The next volume with be titled The Broken Soldier. In the meantime I'm sure I'll continue writing chapters of On the Mend and other little one-shots as the mood strikes me.


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